Standardisation of Callus Culture Techniques for Efficient Micropropagation in Sugarcane

Sugarcane has a paramount importance among the cash crop in India. Commercially sugarcane is propagated by stem cutting with each cutting or set having two or three buds. After the development of clone or variety, major bottleneck in spreading of clone or variety is slow propagation rate through conventional method, which takes years. Micropropagation is only a realistic means of achieving rapid, large scale production of disease free seed cane of newly developed varieties in order to speeding and commercialization process in sugarcane. Standardization of protocol for induction of callus and shoot regeneration was established through in vitro culture of sugarcane. The best callus induction was observed at 4 mg/l of 2, 4-D. The best response in terms of multiple shoot formation was observed on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP and 1 mg/l NAA. Best rooting was observed in half-strength MS medium + 2% sucrose supplemented with 0.5 mg/l NAA and 1 mg/l IBA among different auxin. Best hardening response was observed in potting mixture containing Clay + Sand + Bio-compost (1: 1: 1 ratio) in primary and secondary hardening.