Micropropagation of <i>Moringa oleifera</i> Lam. from shoot tip explants

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is one of the most important plants that serve as medicinal and functional food. It is found in very limited areas in Ethiopia and traditional propagation is by seeds where it is difficult to get uniform plants of superior genotypes. The objective of this study was to develop efficient in vitro propagation protocol of M. oleifera from shoot tip. Seeds of M. oleifera were sterilized with calcium hypochlorite. The sterilized seeds were germinated on growth regulators free Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Shoot tips of M. oleifera were excised from in vitro grown seedlings and cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l kinetin or 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The initiated shoots were transferred to shoot multiplication medium containing different concentrations of BAP in combination with indole butyric acid (IBA) or kinetin. The multiplied shoots were transferred to half strength MS medium containing different concentrations of IBA in combination with α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) for rooting. Seeds sterilized with 10% calcium hypochlorite for 30 min showed 100% germination. All cultured shoots were initiated and the highest shoot number per explant (5.66±0.44) was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l BAP in combination with 0.5 mg/l IBA and 94% of shoots rooted on half strength MS supplemented with 0.25 mg/l NAA. After acclimatization, 90% of plants survived. This in vitro propagation protocol can be used for clonal propagation of superior genotypes of this tree plant in short period of time contributing to its conservation and genetic improvement.