In Vitro Morphogenesis and Plantlet Regeneration from Seeds of Syzygium Alternifolium

This work describes in vitro morphogenesis and plantlet regeneration from seeds of the naturally polyembryonic tree Syzgium alternifolium. The basal medium (BM) comprised half strength Murashige and Skoog's (MS) salts, B₅ vitamins, 2 mg dm^-3 glycine, 250 mg dm^-3 ascorbic acid and 20 g dm^-3 sucrose. Addition of auxins like indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 1-naphthalene acetic acid or 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to the basal medium induced formation of roots or callus from the dicotyledonous as well as tricotyledonous seeds. In contrast, cytokinins like N⁶-benzyladenine (BA), kinetin, 2-isopentenyl adenine, thidiazuron alone or a combination of BA and auxins induced development of adventitious shoots. The medium containing 3.0 mg dm^-3 BA and 0.5 mg dm^-3 IAA induced the highest number of adventitious shoots (32 – 33) from dicotyledonous seed with an average length of 4.1 cm within 6 weeks of incubation. Rooting of 80 % adventitious shoots was achieved by dipping the shoots in 100 mg dm^-3 IAA for 15 min. About 70 % of the rooted shoots were successfully established in pots after hardening. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.