Efficacy of low cost gelling agents and carbon source alternatives during in vitro rooting of Balanites aegyptiaca and Phyllanthus emblica microshoots. (Special Issue: Tree micropropagation and tissue culture.)

摘要

Several attempts have been made to reduce the cost of tissue culture raised plants. The efforts have largely concentrated around using low cost alternatives to agar (gelling agent) and sucrose (carbon source). Isabgol-husk, guar gum and sago powder were used as low cost gelling alternatives and table sugar, raw sugar and jaggary were tested as low cost carbon sources in tissue culture media. These low cost alternatives were tested during in vitro rooting of microshoots of two plants of arid and semi-arid regions of India: Balanites aegyptiaca and Phyllanthus emblica. Sago powder, guar gum and isabgol husk solidified the media properly at 15.0, 5.0 and 5.0% (w/v), respectively. In the presence of isabgol, rooting response in microshoots of B. aegyptiaca was equivalent to that of agar and application of isabgol husk can reduce the cost of gelling agents per unit media by ~44%. Further, table sugar can be used for in vitro rooting of both the species at a commercial scale. As far as gelling agents are concerned, isabgol was found to be a suitable gelling agent for rooting with equally good rooting response comparable to agar.