In vitro propagation of Zingiber petiolatum (Holttum) I. Theilade, a rare zingiberaceous plant from Thailand

Abstract

We describe an in vitro propagation protocol for Zingiber petiolatum (Holttum) I. Theilade, a rare species from the southern part of Thailand. Fruits were surface-sterilized and seeds germinated on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) medium supplemented with 3% sucrose. Three-month-old seedlings were used as initial plant material for in vitro propagation. Terminal buds of the plants were inoculated on MS medium containing 6-benzylaminopurine (BA; 2.2-35.5 μM) alone or in combination with 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (0.5 μM). Eight weeks after inoculation, the cultures were transferred to MS medium without plant growth regulators for 4 wk. The cultures transferred from MS medium with 17.8 μM BA revealed the highest shoot induction rate of 6.1 ± 0.7 shoots per explant. Rooting was spontaneously achieved in MS medium without plant growth regulators. Rooted plants were successfully transplanted to soil.