In vitro propagation of Wadakaha (Acorus calamus L.)

Abstract

Wadakaha (Acorus calamus L.) is a medicinal plant of great commercial value and a potential export crop. The practice of propagating this plant based on rhizomes is inadequate to provide the planting material required for large-scale cultivation. This paper describes a tissue culture based method for mass production of Wadakaha propagules. Apical shoot meristems were cultured on MS (Murashige & Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with BAP or kinetin (0.1-2.0 mgl-1) along with IAA, IBA and NAA (0.01-1.0 mgl-1) for culture initiation. Well developed shoots were transferred to solid or liquid MS medium with BAP or kinetin (0.5-5.0 mgl-1) for shoot multiplication. For culture initiation the medium containing BAP (0.5 mgl-1) and NAA (0.2 mgl-1) was the best. Liquid media containing BAP 1.0 mgl-1 and 2.0 mgl-1 both gave the highest number of shoots (26 shoots/explant). The results show that BAP produced significantly more shoots than kinetin. Liquid media were more promising than solid media.