In vitro clonal propagation of annatto (Bixa orellana L.)

Plants were regenerated from shoot apex and nodal explants on B5 medium sup plemented with 1.0 mg/l 2-isopentenyl adenine (2 iP). All the nodal explant s gave similar response. However the size of the nodal explant was an impor tant factor in producing multiple shoots - a 0.5 cm long nodal explant prod uced maximum number of shoots. Regenerated shoots from shoot apex explants rooted best on MS medium supplemented with 0.01 mg/l alpha-naphthaleneaceti c acid (NAA) whereas shoots regenerated from nodal explants needed 0.5 mg/l NAA for rooting. 80% survival of in vivo transferred plants occurred on th e best potting substrate, i.e. cocopeat.