Tissue culture of commercial rattan species

Tissue culture is a recognized tool in the mass production of exact copies of desirable plant materials. Agustin et. al. (ASU) established standard protocols for commercial species of rattan such as Calamus microsphaerion, Calamus sp. (pink rattan), and C. ornatus. They also acclimatized the aforementioned species under nursery condition and improved its clonal propagation.

Findings

• One hundred thirty-four bottles containing culture embryo and meristem culture of the three species studied formed calli. Adventitious buds and multiple shoots were formed from embryos of the test species. More shoots were developed from C. microsphaerion, while the least number of shoots was observed from C. ornatus.
• For multiple shoot formation, mature embryo was a better source of tissue culture material than the embryo from green fruits.
• A total of 2,915 cultures of the three species were maintained in the growth shelves of the laboratory broken down as follows: 342 inoculated; 786 on callus formation; 1,362 on shoot formation; and 275 rooted clones.
• Among the three rooting media used for potting, coconut coir dust had the highest percent survival (90%). This was followed by top forest soil (50%) and coconut coir dust+forest top soil (30%).