Plant regeneration from axillary buds of a mature tree of Ficus religiosa.

Dormant axillary buds of nodal explants collected from a mature (35-year-old) tree of Ficus religiosa L. sprouted on MS medium supplemented with 6-benzyladenine (BA, 5 mg l-1) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA, 0.2 mg l-1 ) within 4 days. Multiple shoots were obtained when these explants were transferred to MS medium containing 1.5 mg l-1 BA and 1.5 mg l-1 adenine sulphate (ADS). These multiple shoots (1 cm) were allowed to elongate to a height of 4-5 cm by maintaining them on MS medium containing 2 mg l-1 BA, 0.5 mg l-1 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and activated charcoal (0.3% w/v). Nodal segments taken from these in vitro-proliferated shoots yielded multiple shoots when cultured on the multiple shoot-inducing MS medium mentioned above. Root induction in these shoots (4-5 cm in height) was achieved by transferring them onto MS medium supplemented with 2 mg l-1 IBA and 0.1 mg l-1 NAA for 1 week; upon transfer to half-strength MS basal medium these shoots exhibited root proliferation. These rooted plantlets were successfully established in soil after a short period of acclimatization.