Plant Tissue Culture

Modem biotechnology offers unlimited opportunities for enhancing genetic potential of medicinal plants, management of biotic stresses and waste management by organic recycling and also faster multiplication of planting material. Tissue culture, an important area of biotechnology can be used to improve the productivity of planting materials through enhanced availability of identified planting stock with desired traits.

Micropropagation is one of the important contributions of plant tissue culture to commercial plant propagation and has vast significance. It is true to type propagation of selected genotype using in vitro culture technique. This technique provides a rapid reliable system for the production of a large number of genetically uniform disease-free plantlets. In-house experimental trials and protocol development for medicinal plants and their standardization was undertaken viz.

Standardization of Micropropagation Protocol of Selected Economically and Medicinally Important Plants

An in-house project for the development of different tissue culture protocols was undertaken with the objective of developing the up-scalable and cost-effective micropropagation protocol for selected economically and/or medicinally important crops. Micropropagation production system for economically and/ or medicinally important crop varieties viz. Rose, Papaya, Nagod, was initiated. Elite variety of rose (scented variety), which is in high demand, was selected and significant progress in terms of the development of reproducible, up-scalable and cost-effective micropropagation protocol was achieved. A popular variety of Papaya (Taiwan Variety) was selected on the basis of the farmers’ feedback and recommendations. Considerable progress was achieved in terms of multiplication rate and planted generation. Another economically important plant –Bamboo was selected and cultures initiated. Large-scale multiplication protocol was developed in medicinally important plant Vitex negundo (Nagod). Further, In vitro flowering was achieved in Vitex negundo. Cultures of other medicinally important plants viz. Withania somnifera and Bacopa Monnier for which the protocols were developed previously are being maintained.

Documentation, Techno-economy, Photochemical Analysis and Biotechnological Approaches of Medicinal Plants

An in-house project leading to a research study paper was initiated and commercially viable micropropagation protocols of various plants were standardized viz. medicinal plants - Bacopa monnieri, Withania somnifera, Plumbago Zeylanica, Aloe vera, Centella Asiatica and analysis pyrethrum; aromatic plant such as Damaska rose and general crop like potato tuber formation. Biomass experiments were carried out for the selected medicinal plants both in vitro and generated on the field. Analysis of secondary metabolites of selected medicinal plants was carried out. Large numbers of in vitro plants were hardened in the greenhouse and transferred to the medicinal garden. A Compact Disc (CD) entitled “Herbal Panacea” based on important medicinal plants of Gujarat State for general awareness and identification for the public was developed & released comprising the complete details of about 100 medicinal plants.

Further, farmers’ survey assessing the awareness, demand & supply of medicinal plants in whole Gujarat area was successfully completed. A market survey of the medicinal plant for assessing the present & future requirements including promotion of medicinal plants for ayurvedic and pharmaceutical companies for their cultivation was also successfully completed.