IN VITRO REGENERATION OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus)

Abstract

The present experiment was carried out in the Laboratory of Biotechnology, Department of Biotechnology, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka1207 during the period of February, 2020 to December, 2020 to study the effect

of

BA (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mg/l), NAA (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 mg/l) individually or in combination of both for in vitro regeneration of Dragon fruit. The shoot tips of Dragon plants were used as explants which were sterilized with 70% ethanol and 0.1% HgCl 2 . The highest percentage of shoot induction (76.00%) was observed in MS medium with BA 2.0 mg/l in minimum 12.2 days. The maximum number of shoot (3.20) and the highest shoot length (4.02 cm) were obtained at 42 days with the treatment BA 2.0 mg/l and BA 2.50 mg/l respectively. The treatment NAA 0.50 mg/l produced the highest percentage of root (68.00%) and minimum 12.40 days required to produce root with the treatment NAA 0.25 mg/l. The maximum number of root (5.40) and the highest length of root (5.38 cm) at 42 days were recorded with the treatment NAA 0.50 mg/l and NAA 0.25 mg/l respectively where the control treatment gave the lowest result. In combined effect, BA 2.0 mg/l+ NAA 0.50 mg/l showed the highest percentage of shoot (86.67%) and root (93.33%) in 11.67 days and 12.67 days respectively. The maximum number of shoot (3.67) and the highest shoot length (4.36 cm) were obtained at 42 days in BA 2.0 mg/L+ NAA 0.50 mg/l. The maximum number of root (5.67) and the highest length of root (6.27 cm) at 42 days were recorded with BA 2.0 mg/l+ NAA 0.50 mg/l where the treatment BA 1.0 mg/l + NAA 0.25 mg/l showed the lowest result. Finally, the survival rate of in vitro regenerated plantlets was recorded 84% in natural condition. Overall, feasible protocol has been developed for in vitro rapid regeneration of Dragon fruit having potential application in large scale multiplication for commercial purpose.