PLANT REGENERATION FROM THE NODAL PART OF CITRULLUS COLOCYNTHIS (L.) SCHARD

Citrullus colocynthis, belonging to the family of cucurbitaceae. It is a xerophytic desert plant, widely used for its medicinal purpose. In tribal areas it is used for the treatment of constipation, oedema, bacterial infection, cancer, diabetes and abortifacient. Present study is based on developing a protocol for plantlet regeneration from the nodal segment. The sterilized explants were inoculated in different concentrations of cytokinins and auxins. Among the various treatments, MS (1962) medium supplemented with BAP (2.0mg/l) gave the best shooting culture establishment. For shoot elongation MS medium supplemented with IBA (0.1 mg/l) was found to be best. In vitro elongated shoots rooted on MS medium supplemented with IBA (0.1 mg/l). The plantlets were hardened, acclimatized and transplanted in the field, where they showed 60% survival rate.