Effect of Growth Regulators on In Vitro Micropropagation of Stahlianthus thorelii Gagnep

Stahlianthus thorelii Gagnep is a plant belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, widely distributed in Asian countries like China, Thailand, India and Vietnam. In traditional oriental medicine, this plant is usually used to treat hemorrhage, heavy menstruation, poor digestion, rheumatism and bone/joint pain (tuberous roots). This research article presents the results of in vitro growth experiments on S. thorelii Gagnep using tubers as explants. The samples are grown in MS media enriched with BAP growth stimulant concentrations of 5.0 mg L −1 and a kinetin concentration of 4.0 mg L −1 , yielding 5.55 ± 0.59 and 5.48 ± 0.87 shoots/explants, respectively. Once the plants reached a height of 3.0–4.0 cm, we inoculated 2.0–3.0 leaves with a MS rapid proliferation medium treated with BAP or NAA growth agents alone or in combination. The most shoots (7.54 ± 0.79 shoots/explants) were produced by the medium enhanced with 3.0 mg L −1 BAP and 0.5 mg L −1 NAA after 8 weeks of cultivation. The greatest root/shoot induction of 26.17 ± 1.5 was achieved with the medium that had been treated with 0.5 mg L −1 NAA and 0.5 mg L −1 IBA, which was prepared using the MS media that was administered alone or in combination with NAA and IBA for in vitro shoot rooting. Highest percentage of survival (100%) was observed when tissue cultured plantlets were acclimatized in soil:sand:compost (1:1:1).