| Summary: | Barhi is one of the finest cultivars of dates, characterized by the high prices of fruits and offshoots. This experiment aims to study the role of brassinosteroid on the physical characteristics of Barhi date palm tissue culture (callus and embryos) under polyethylene glycol induced water stress. For this purpose, date palm tissues were cultured on a simulated dehydration medium using concentrations of polyethylene glycol (0, 10, 20, and 30 g.L-1) which interacted with four concentrations of brassinosteroid (0, 0.2, 0.5, and 1 µM). A decrease in the fresh weight of callus and embryo cultures was observed with higher polyethylene glycol concentrations. However, brassinosteroid treatment showed a significant increase in fresh weight compared to brassinosteroid-free treatments at similar polyethylene glycol concentrations. On the other hand, water content decreased significantly under increased polyethylene glycol concentrations with no apparent influence of brassinosteroid treatments. The dry matter and tissue activity significantly increased under brassinosteroid application combined with polyethylene glycol induced water stress. Furthermore, brassinosteroid interacting with polyethylene glycol decreased the browning level in both culture types. This experiment concludes that brassinosteroid treatment can significantly decrease the harmful effect of water stress due to polyethylene glycol's presence in the nutrition media. Additionally, the findings of this study highlight the importance of brassinosteroids and polyethylene glycol in protecting palm culture from browning and maintaining in vitro activity.
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