PLANTS OBTAINED FROM THE KHAIR TREE (ACACIA-CATECHU WILLD) USING MATURE NODAL SEGMENTS

An in vitro method for obtaining plants of Acacia catechu has been dev eloped using nodal explants from mature 'elite' trees growing in the f ield. Maximum shoot bud development (eight to ten) from a single expla nt was achieved on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6 -benzylaminopurine (BAP) (4.0 mg/l) and alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid ( 0.5 mg/l). Addition of adenine sulphate (25.0 mg/l), ascorbic acid (20 .0 mg/l) and glutamine (150.0 mg/l) to the medium was found beneficial for maximum shoot bud induction. The shoot buds developed into health y and sturdy shoots on MS medium containing BAP and kinetin at 1.0 mg/ l. Excised shoots were rooted on 1/4-strength MS medium with indole-3- acetic acid at 3.0 mg/l and 1.5% sucrose to obtain complete plants.