1Department of Biochemistry, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263 145, Uttarakhand.
2Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263 145, Uttarakhand.
*Corresponding author: E-mail: kcbiochem@rediff/gmail.com
Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulents, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous like Jatropha curcas L) from the family Euphorbiaceae. Seeds, besides being a source of oil for biodiesel, can also be used for manufacturing other useful products such as candles, high quality soaps and cosmetics, and other herbal products. Since J. curcas is primarily a cross pollinated crop, vegetative propagation is important to maintain genetic purity of the elite lines and transformants. A regeneration protocol was optimized for the faster propagation of elite jatropha plant. Out of different explants tested (petiole, apical bud and leaf), apical buds were found to be the best for callus induction. Shoot regeneration from calli induced from petioles was the best. Various combinations of auxins with cytokinins were suitable for callus induction. The best shoot regeneration (75%) was in MS medium supplemented with IBA (1.23M) and BAP (6.6M). Root induction (100%) was successfully obtained in MS and ½ MS medium. Acclimatization and hardening was quite successful with survival rate of 75 per cent.
Apical bud, BAP, IBA, Jatropha curcas, petiole
