In vitro propagation of Syzygium travancoricum Gamble - an endangered treespecies

Rapid multiplication in Syzygium travancoricum, an endangered tree species was achieved from nodal explants on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium suppl emented with Woody Plant Medium (WPM) micronutrients and plant growth regul ators. Multiple shoot induction from young 1-2-year-old seedlings was obser ved on basal medium supplemented with 17.7 mu M benzyladenine and 1.3 mu M alpha-naphthalene acetic acid. A high number of multiple shoots (25 shoots/ nodal explant) was observed by the third subculture on multiplication mediu m. The dark brown nodular callus obtained from in vitro grown shoots throug h axillary buds regenerated at a high frequency when transferred to 1/2 str ength basal medium. The plants rooted on 1/2 strength basal medium suppleme nted with 1.1 mu M indole-3-acetic acid and were transferred to the field w ith 40% survival.