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IN VITRO CLONAL PROPAGATION AND BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF FIELD ESTABLISHED STEVIA REBAUDIANA BERTONI

MUHAMMAD RAFIQ^1*, MUHAMMAD UMAR DAHOT¹, SHER MUHAMAMD MANGRIO², HABIB AHMED NAQVI¹ AND IQBAL AHMED QARSHI³

Abstract: An experiment was conducted to optimize growth medium and growth conditions for In vitro propagation of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni through nodular stem sections. Varying concentrations of different growth regulators BAP, Kn, and IAA were applied through growth medium to assess their effects on shoots development while NAA and IBA were applied to assess their role in root formation. Although all plant growth regulators promoted shoot formation, maximum shoot formation was observed by supplementing 2.0 mgL^-1 BAP. In contrast 0.5 mgL^-1 NAA caused the maximum root formation in nodular stem sections of S. rebaudiana. Furthermore, survival rate of regenerated plants were 92 and 83% during hardening and shifting to green house, respectively. Various biochemical attributes (carbohydrates, proteins) in the leaves were also measured and compared with leaf extract of Egyptian cultivar to assess its quality. 

Abbreviations: BAP Benzyl amino purine; 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; MS Murashige and Skoog (1962) basal medium; NAA a-naphthalene acetic acid; IBA Indole-3-butyric acid; IAA Indole acetic acid

¹Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan

²Institute of Botany, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan

³Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Qarshi Research International (Pvt.) Ltd. Hattar, Haripur N.W.F.P., Pakistan