Mohammed Faheem, Satyapal Singh, Babeet Singh Tanwer, Moinuddin Khan and Anwar Shahzad
Catharanthus roseus (Linn.) G. Don. syn. Vinca rosea Linn. an important medicinal plant belongs to the family Apocynaceae. The present study describes a simple, efficient and reproducible regeneration system for in vitro propagation of Catharanthus roseus through nodal segment explant. Explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP, NAA and IBA. Multiple shoots were produced on all the concentrations of BAP, NAA and IBA; however BAP (0.5 mg/l) + NAA (1.0 mg/l) concentration proved to be optimal for the production of maximum number of shoots. Best rooting response was observed on half strength MS containing Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.10 mg/l). Regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized and hardened off inside the culture room and then transferred to green house with 100 % survival rate.
