PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Sm. is well known as pinecone lily, bitter ginger and is wild ginger belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. The present study is aimed to develop an efficient protocol for micropropagation through the culture of rhizome bud explants. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP), kinetin (Kn) and α- naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) were employed towards the induction and effective multiplication of shoots. The highest percentage of shoot induction was observed on the medium supplemented with 8.88 µM/L of BAP and 1.10 µM/L of NAA. The maximum number of micro shoots (5.10 ± 0.31) was achieved on the medium fortified with 8.88 µM/L of BAP and 1.10 µM/L of NAA. The initiated shoots were subcultured on fresh medium enriched with the combination of BAP+NAA, Kn+NAA and BAP+Kn+NAA. Among the various combinations studied, the medium fortified with 8.88 µM/L of BAP, 9.30 µM/L of Kn and 1.10 µM/L of NAA was found to be the most suitable one towards the maximum percentage of shoot multiplication with the highest number of shoots (13.40 ± 0.47) and mean shoot length of 9.01 ± 0.17 cm. The multiple shoots produced roots spontaneously in the multiplication stage itself. The healthy shoot lets were hardened and transfer to the field with 100% of survival. The developed protocol is the most suitable one for the propagation of shoots and roots simultaneously. Hence this could be useful for the large scale production of plantlets of this important medicinal plant.