Over Half a Century of Research on Blackberry Micropropagation: A Comprehensive Review

Micropropagation of blackberry (Rubus spp.) has emerged as a key technique for large-scale production of genetically uniform, disease-free plants. This review summarizes more than half a century of in vitro blackberry culture research, covering fundamental aspects such as establishment, proliferation, rooting, acclimation, genetic stability and conservation. Optimization of culture media, plant growth regulators and environmental conditions has significantly improved the efficiency of micropropagation. Recent advances, including bioreactors, cryopreservation and biostimulants, have further improved plant growth and stress tolerance. In addition, studies on bioactive compounds in micropropagated blackberries highlight their potential nutritional and pharmaceutical applications. Despite progress, challenges such as microbial contamination, somaclonal variation, and response variability among cultivars remain critical areas for future research. The integration of nanotechnology, alternative culture systems (i.e., bioreactors), synthetic seed technology should represent the future research trend of blackberry micropropagation, ensuring sustainable production and conservation of genetic resources.