PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

The aim of this study was to rapidly multiply Bambusa bambos using plant tissue culture techniques to address the challenges associated with vegetative or seed propagation. In this experiment, plant growth regulators such as BAP (Benzyl amino purine), IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid), 2,4-D (Dichloro phenoxy acetic acid), and NAA (Naphthalene acetic acid) were employed in the media for shoot induction, root formation and leaf callus culture. For callus induction, 3 mg/L of 2,4-D and 0.5 mg/L of NAA were used, but no callus induction was observed, with a 0% success rate. Additionally, 0.1% HgCl₂ solution was used as a disinfectant, resulting in 81.81% contamination-free cultures. For axillary bud proliferation from nodal explants, a combination of 4 mg/L BAP and 2 mg/L IBA was used, but the explant’s genus and species were unidentified. Out of 18 explants, only six showed satisfactory growth. A total of seven subculturing batches of B. bambos were cultured in shoot induction media with 4 mg/L BAP and 2 mg/L IBA. The success rates for contamination-free cultures in the different batches were as follows: Batch 01 – 80.00%, Batch 02 – 70.00%, Batch 03 – 66.66%, Batch 04 – 79.94%, Batch 05 – 60.00%, Batch 06 – 83.33%, and Batch 07 – 58.33%. These percentages reflect the success of contamination-free cultures only. For root induction, 4 mg/L IBA was used in the rooting media. Rooting was observed only in cultures where the shoots had grown to more than 5 cm. The success rates for root induction in these batches were: Batch 01 – 87.5%, Batch 02 – 66.66%, and Batch 03 – 84%.