In Vitro Conservation of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.

摘要

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is a tropical fruit tree indigenous to rainforests of Western Ghats and distributed throughout India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Southern China, Malaya and the East Indies. Though cultivated to a certain extent in India and the East, this species has been reported to be regionally endangered in South India. Tissue culture techniques for propagating identified elite scion varieties would help to retain genotypic characters and produce a large number of plant material.In vitro methods for propagation of jackfruit are in a developmental stage in 8 South Asian countries. There is no report on in vitro conservation of A. heterophyllus to date. Thus, in order to overcome recalcitrance, retain genetic purity of elite varieties and prevent escalation of this species in the hierarchy of the Red Data Book, this study on in vitro conservation was taken up, where micropropagation formed a pre-requisite for conservation studies. Protocols have been optimized to conserve germplasm in vitro at 10°C without an intervening subculture for 4 years, which could support jackfruit conservation programs ex situ. The present paper highlights the use of in vitro conservation methods for jackfruit under reduced culture conditions for establishment of In vitro Active Genebank (IVAG).