Protocol

Centre : Central Tuber Crops Research Institute(CTCRI),TVM
Name of the Protocol
A Simple and fficient Protocol for Rapid Regeneration and Propagation of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.) in vitro from Apical Meristems
Nature : Modification of existing protocol
Crop / Pathogen : Taro / Phytophthora colocasiae

Inventors

1. Nath V. S.
2. Sankar M S.
3. Hegde V M.,
4. Jeeva M L.
5. Misra R S.
6. Veena SS

Objectives

1. To mass multiply disease free taro plants

Procedure / Summary

Apical meristems (~1.0 cm) excised from leaf blight-resistant taro cultivar cv. ‘Muktakeshi’ grown in a net house were used as explants. Multiple shoots were initiated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 mg L-1 6-benzyladenine and 1.0 mg L-1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid. Four week-old shoots were rooted by transferring to MS basal medium without plant growth regulators. After 2 weeks, well developed plantlets were hardened in plastic cups in potting mixture (vermiculite + sand, 1:1, v/v). Acclimatized plants were transferred to 30-cm plastic pots containing top soil and vermi-compost (3:1, v/v) where they grew well.

Applications

1. The present study demonstrates a simple and highly efficient protocol for initiation of multiple shoots and roots from apical meristem explants of taro cv ‘Muktakeshi’.
2. The protocol could be applied for commercial mass production and distribution of cv. ‘Muktakeshi’to farmers which is crucial to reduce yield loss caused by leaf blight disease.

Publications

1. Nath V. S., Sankar M S., Hegde V M., Jeeva M L., Misra R S., Veena SS (2012) A Simple and Efficient Protocol for Rapid Regeneration and Propagation of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott.) in vitro from Apical Meristems. International Journal of Plant Developmental Biology 6(1) 64-66.