Plant Tissue Culture and Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Botany, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga-585 106, Karnataka, India.
An efficient in vitro plant regeneration system characterized by rapid and continuous production of somatic embryos using male flower bud explants of seedling of red banana. Plant growth regulators influenced the induction of somatic embryogenesis. The optimal medium for direct somatic embryogenesis was 10.0mg/l 2,4, D + 1.0mg/l Kn on MS medium. On this concentration, the average of 22.2 ± 0.75 matured somatic embryos formed from per male flower bud with 100% frequency. Complete regenerated plantlets where obtained form cotyledonary shaped embryos with 46% of frequency on MS medium supplemented with 3.0mg/l BAP + 0.75mg/ABA. The regenerated plants were transferred on rooting medium containg 3.0mg/IBA. The well developed rooted plants were hardened by transferring in to a poly cups consisting soil and sand in the ratio of 1:1. After one month the plants were transferred to the field where the survived rate 70%. The protocol described in this present communication felicitates improvement of regeneration from this endangered species via. somatic embryogenesis.
