An efficient plant regeneration system through callus for Pseudarthria viscida (L.) Wright and Arn., a rare ethnomedicinal herb.

The purpose of this study was to develop a protocol to induce high frequency of callus and subsequent plantlet regeneration for Pseudarthria viscida; an important medicinal plant. The cotyledonary node and young leaf pieces (1 × 0.5 cm, length × breadth) were used as explants for callus induction and subsequent shoot regeneration and adventitious roots induction from the shoots. The best results were achieved on the following media: (1) 96 % callus induction from cotyledonary node explants on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mgl(-1) 2, 4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) and 0.5 mgl(-1) 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), (2) 97 % shoot regeneration from cotyledonary node derived calli with an average of 44.9 shoots per explant on MS medium fortified with 3.0 mgl(-1) N6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and 1 mgl(-1) NAA,37 (3) 98 % rooting with an average number of 3.3 roots per shoot on MS medium containing indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or NAA (0.5-4 mgl(-1)) after 45 days. The plantlets were transferred to the field after acclimatization. Of the 40 plantlets transplanted to the soil, 29 survived (72.5 %).