HIGHLY EFFICIENT IN VITRO ROOT INDUCTION IN PEANUT BY MECHANICAL STRESS METHOD

M. U. Hassan, Z. Akram, S. Ajmal, T. Mukhtar, S. Nasim, G. Shabbir and Y. Zafar*

Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan
*National Institute of Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology, NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan
Corresponding author email: mhq075@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) belongs to family leguminosae and is one of the world’s largest oilseed crops. Efficient tissue culture system is a pre-requisite for improvement of the crop through genetic engineering. Longitudinally halved cotyledons with removed plumule and radical were employed as explants to regenerate shoots in a previously determined best hormone combination. Shoots were inoculated singly or in the form of bunch on two different media in petri plates as well in jars. Shoot bunches in petri plates showed exceptionally high rooting and net survival efficiency on both media compared to all other combinations. Mechanical pressure exerted by low space in petri plate is the most probable reason for development of strong and extensive root system.
Key words: Arachis hypogaea, cotyledon, in vitro regeneration, mechanical stress, root induction efficiency.