Effect of plant stimulants on shoot proliferation from nodal segments of Aegle marmelos L. (Corr.)

Single node segments from in vitro raised seedlings of Aegle marmelos were used as explants in this study. Among the different combinations of auxins and cytokinins tried for culture establishment and multiplication, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with BA 2 mg L⁻¹ and IBA 0.5 mg L⁻¹ was found to be the most effective, giving 9.33 shoots per explant in six weeks of culture. The plant stimulants viz., chitosan, adenine sulphate and thidiazuron were added to MS medium supplemented with BA 2 mg L⁻¹ and IBA 0.5 mg L⁻¹ and in MS medium devoid of any plant hormones. The maximum shoot proliferation was obtained in MS medium with BA 2 mg L⁻¹, IBA 0.5 mg L⁻¹ and chitosan 10 mg L⁻¹ recording 35.67 shoots per explant followed by that supplemented with thidiazuron 0.02 mg L⁻¹ recording 20.00 shoots per explant.