Abstract
In vitro propagation of three rare, endangered and endemic rhododendron species—Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum, R. elliottii, and R. johnstoneanum—was attained. Nodal explants were used for multiple shoot induction studies. Three cytokinins (isopentenyladenine, benzyladenine, and kinetin) were evaluated in all three species. Isopentenyladenine performed better in all three species, especially at the concentration of 39.36 µM. Testing of combinations of growth regulators revealed that explants grown on Anderson medium supplemented with 39.36 µM isopentenyladenine and 4.90 µM indole butyric acid gave optimum results with 100% multiple shoot induction, 18 shoots per explant, and shoot length of 2.07 cm with R. johnstoneanum. Indole butyric acid was found to be the best auxin for root formation. Around 60% of the in vitro-raised plants of R. elliottii, R. johnstoneanum, and R. dalhousiae var. rhabdotum were able to establish ex vitro.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, for providing the necessary facilities. The authors are also grateful to the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, New Delhi, India, for the financial support of the project.
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Mao, A.A., Kaliamoorthy, S., Ranyaphi, R.A. et al. In vitro micropropagation of three rare, endangered, and endemic rhododendron species of Northeast India. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 47, 674–681 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-011-9377-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-011-9377-0