Abstract

NUTRIENT MEDIA USED FOR MICROPROPAGATION OF ORCHIDS: A RESEARCH REVIEW

Jayarama Reddy*

Abstract

Orchids create immense interest due to their high commercial value. Orchids are propagated by both in vivo and in vitro methods. Terrestrial orchids have associations with mycorrhizal fungi that are considered necessary for seed germination and growth. Asymbiotic germination just uses the nutrients that the seed requires to grow. A perusal of literature reveals that several hundred media compositions have been used. But the most commonly used media for the propagation of orchids are MS, VW and KC. In the initial stage of research only solid media were used. Later on researchers started using a liquid medium either in static or in moving conditions. After 1960 a revolution of sorts took place in the clonal propagation of orchids. Success of biotechnological approaches is dependent on regeneration of intact plants following genetic modification, generally by micropropagation. This paper is a review of more than 300 protocols used for the micrpropagation of orchids. Examples of currently employed methods of recent modern techniques are being employed for micropropagation. They have been developed to help growers to meet the demand of the horticultural industry in the next century. Plant tissue culture, especially practical applications of micropropagation are also presented here. Contributions of Murashige & Skoog, Knudson, Went, White, Gautheret and others are also reviewed in this paper.

Keywords: mycorrhizal, Asymbiotic, micropropagation.