Micropropagation of Ficus racemosa: An Important Forest Tree

Ficus racemosa is a member of Moraceae which not only has many pharmacological benefits but also has ecological potential especially for water spring conservation. Reforestation is necessary to support the sustainability of the function and role of forest resources in the long term. However, conventional propagation of forest trees using seeds has many obstacles. In vitro culture technique is an alternative propagation method that has been widely applied to tree or woody plant species. Therefore, this study aims to develop an efficient micropropagation protocol to produce F. racemosa seedlings on a large scale. Seeds derived from fresh fruit were germinated in vitro to obtain seedlings as a source of explants. Cotyledonary node explants were taken from 4- and 7-week-old seedlings. Shoot induction from cotyledonary node explants used two basal media MS and WPM, which supplemented with 0.5; 1 and 2 mg/l BAP. The induced shoots were multiplied and then transferred to a rooting medium that also used MS and WPM basal media with and without the addition of 0.1 mg/l NAA. Subsequently, the plantlets were removed from the culture to be transferred to the acclimatization stage. The results showed that F. racemosa seeds on in vitro agar media had a germination rate of > 95%. More shoots were produced from explants taken from 7-week-old seedlings. MS and WPM basal media were able to induce shoots with not significantly different in number. While more roots were produced on WPM media. Plantlets grown in media consisting of a mixture of compost soil: rice husk charcoal in a ratio of 1:2 have a survival rate of >95%. This shows that the in vitro propagation has great potential for providing F. racemosa seedlings to support conservation. Both MS and WPM were promising basal media to produce this forest tree on a large scale.