Vol. 12, Issue 9 (2023)

Author(s):
Gaddam Karthik, K Ravindra Kumar, AVD Dorajee Rao, DVS Raju, K Aruna Kumari and T Gouri sankar

Abstract:
All over the world, Aglaonema are acclaimed as one of the most popular indoor ornamental plants. Vegetative propagation through stem cuttings is relatively slow and can carry diseases from mother stock to cuttings. Micro-propagation is order of the day for producing large scale quality, disease free and physiologically uniform genetic stock in any plant species. However, establishment of in vitro axenic cultures in Aglaonema is relatively difficult as endogenous pathogens harbour in their vascular tissue. This experiment was under taken to standardize efficient pre-treatment and surface sterilization protocols for aseptic culture establishment by using shoot tips and nodal segments as explants in Aglaonema sp. at Dr. YSRHU-Horticultural Research Station, Kovvur during the year 2022-23. Experiment was laid in factorial completely randomized design. Among the different treatments, highest axenic culture establishment was recorded in both the explants treated with Carbendazim 0.2% + Mancozeb 0.2% + Plantomycin (200 ppm) + Tween-20 for two hours as pre-treatment followed by series of treatments with 4% NaOCl for 30 min. followed by 0.1% HgCl₂ for 15 min. followed by 80% Ethanol for 1 min. followed by treating the buds with Cefotaxime 200 ppm for 30 min. as a surface sterilization treatment. Among the different growth regulators tested, MS media supplemented with 2.0 mg L^-1 BAP and 0.5 mg L^-1 NAA recorded highest culture establishment, number of shoots per explant in minimum number of days.