Effects of plant growth regulators on virus-free plantlet regeneration from Abroma augustum (L.) seeds

Abroma augusta is a popular folk therapeutic plant in Bangladesh, rightly called Devil’s cotton in English. The present study was performed to evaluate the in vitro multiple shoot and root generation of Abroma augustum plants. In vitro seed germination, shoot proliferation and root induction were performed following previous methods. The highest percentage of seed germination was 90±0.0% after seven days of inoculation, after which the plants were sterilized with 0.1% NaOCl for 2 min. The longest shoot length was 7.6±0.6 cm at the MS+2+0.3 mg/L BAP+NAA concentration. The greatest number of roots per shoot was 12.0±1.0 cm, and the greatest length of roots was 6.8±1.6 cm in MS media supplemented with 1.0 mg/L IBA. Both the shoots and roots were vigorous and sufficient in length and number. The present study established an efficient in vitro micropopagation process for Abroma augustum plantlet production through seeds. The findings of the present research will be helpful for rapidly regenerating disease-free plantlets.