The effect of mycorrhizal symbiosis on the development of micropropagated artichokes Irene Morone Fortunato a, * , Claudia Ruta a , Annamaria Castrignano` b , Francesco Saccardo c a Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Vegetali, Universita` via Amendola 165A, I-70125 Bari, Italy b CRA-Istituto Sperimentale Agronomico, via Celso Ulpiani 5, I-70125 Bari, Italy c Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale, Universita`, via San Camillo de Lellis, I-01100 Viterbo, Italy Received 8 November 2004; received in revised form 22 March 2005; accepted 4 May 2005 Abstract In this work, microrosettes of Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus Fiori of the ‘‘catanese’’ type were subcultured in a medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (0.05 mg l À1 ). For root induction, indoleacetic acid (IAA), a-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and indole-3-butyrric acid (IBA) were used at three concentrations: 2, 5 and 10 mg l À1 . The highest percentage of rooted shoots was aided by the presence of 10 mg l À1 IAA. Once transplanted in pots, the plantlets were inoculated with 10 g Glomus viscosum strain A6 (AM fungus). Acclimatisation was clearly facilitated by the addition of the AM fungus. Indeed, the mycorrhizal plantlets registered a survival of between 90 and 95% for the rooting shoots and 60% for the non-rooting shoots. The botanical characterization of the material produced was carried out in field and was based on several morphological and productive parameters. Data collected confirm the characteristics of the original cultivar, the efficiency of the in vitro propagation material and the possibility of using this technique in early types of artichoke. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus Fiori; In vitro rooting; Acclimatisation; Botanical characterisation; Fungus AM Glomus viscosum www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti Scientia Horticulturae 106 (2005) 472–483 * Corresponding author. Present address: Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Vegetali, Facolta` di Agraria, Via Amendola 165/a, Bari, Italy. Tel.: +39 080 5442975; fax: +39 080 5442976. E-mail address: irene.morone@agr.uniba.it (I.M. Fortunato). 0304-4238/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2005.05.006