Abstract

An in vitro cultivation protocol was developed for Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke. It is an important medicinal plant in China. Adventitious shoot induction was most successful by using young leaves as explants for propagation on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium (MS) supplemented with 8.5 µM N₆-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 2.0 µM Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). For continuous subculture, α-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and BA (µM) at a ratio of 2.5:4.5 had the best regeneration potential producing approximately six plantlets per leaf explant. The highest frequency of induction adventitious roots was 91% on the 2/3-strength MS medium with butyric acid (IBA) 2.0 μM and IAA 2.5 μM. The results show that the basic medium played a determinative role in initiating the adventitious roots. This propagation regime has the capacity for producing 1500 to 2000 plants from one young leaf after three months long subculture cycles, making it highly attractive for implementation as an in vitroconservation strategy. The micro-propagated plants were easily acclimatized (85%) within a month after rooting in vitro and planted ex vitro with soil: plant ash: compound fertilizer (30:2:1; weight.) mixture.

Key words: Medicinal herbs, Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke, micropropagation.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: BA, N₆-Benzylaminopurine; IAA, indole-3-acetic acid; NAA, α-naphthaleneacetic acid; IBA, indole-3-butyric acid; MS, Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium; 2,4-D, 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; PGR, plant growth regulator; LSD,least significant difference.