Micropropagation of Dendrobium densiflorum Lindl. ex Wall. through protocorm-like bodies:: effects of plant growth regulators and lanthanoids

An efficient microprogation protocol has been developed for Dendrobium densiflorum Lindl. ex Wall., a traditional medicinal plant, through protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) from nodal stem segments using 6-benzylamino-purine (BAP) and the lanthanoid neodymium. The highest percentage of explants producing PLBs (72%), with an average of 15 PLBs per explant, was induced by culturing stem segments on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 mg l(-1) BAP. The newly formed PLBs proliferated well on the basal MS medium and completely converted into shoots on MS medium containing 2.0 mg l(-1) BAR Shoots produced an average of 22 roots per plantlet when cultured on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg l(-1) neodymiurn nitrate. Healthy plantlets with well-developed roots were successfully acclimatized. The obtained result suggests that the lanthanoids; can be used to effectively initiate rooting in the micropropagation and conservation of D. densiflorum.