In vitro propagation of the Dendrobium wardianum

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated the propagation of Dendrobium wardianum by in vitro culture technique. The results showed that: the most suitable protocorm multiplication medium is MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/l BAP, 1 mg/l IBA, 40 g/l mashed banana after 8 weeks of culture, with a protocorm multiplier of 18.8; MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l KIN, 30 g/l mashed carrot gave the best on in vitro shoot regeneration after 8 weeks of culture, with 32.58 shoots/explant, shoot height of 2.5 cm and 3.5 leaves/shoot. Shoots were rooted well on MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/l αNAA, 30 g/l mashed carrot with the highest mean number of roots (10.8 roots per shoot) and the longest mean root length (3.01 cm) after 6 weeks of culture. In the nursery, a mixture of forest moss, volcanic pumice, and coconut fibre (30:30:40) ratio was regarded as the best substrate due to the high survival rate of plantlets (96.6%) and healthy plantlets (9.10 cm in height with 8.7 leaves and 3.8 new roots/plantlet) at 6 weeks after planting.