Effects of Sucrose and Cytokinin on in vitro Regeneration of Small Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton.)

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) is a popular spice crop that has great commercial value. In vitro regeneration of a local variety of cardamom using shoot tips as explants is presented here. MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of sucrose (3% and 6%), cytokinin (1.0 mg/L, 1.5 mg/L, 2.0 mg/L, 2.5 mg/L) and BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) was used for regeneration purposes. The ANOVA showed significant differences among all the treatments. The highest number of shoots was shown in treatments 1.5 mg/L BAP (3.10±0.74a) and 2.0 mg/L BAP (2.90±0.74a) supplemented with 6% sucrose, whereas the lowest was in 1.5 mg/L BAP (1.60±0.70b) and 2.0 mg/L BAP (1.50±0.71b) with 3% sucrose. The best shoot length was observed in treatments with 1.5 mg/L (5.50±0.53a) and 2.0 mg/L (5.30±0.48ab) BAP with 6% sucrose. In the case of root formation, the best treatments were those with 1.0 mg/L BAP with 3% sucrose (4.10±0.88a), 1.5mg/L BAP with 6% sucrose (3.90±0.86a) and 2.0 mg/L BAP with 6% sucrose (4.00±0.82a), while the longer roots were observed in the treatments with 2.5 mg/L (11.60±1.26a), 1.5 mg/L (8.80±0.79b) and 2.0 mg/L (7.20±0.79c) BAP mediated with 6% sucrose. The leaf number was highest in treatments with 2.5 mg/L (2.90±0.74c), 1.5 mg/L (5.30±0.82ab), and 2.0 mg/L (5.90±0.74a) BAP with 6% sucrose whereas the lowest was in treatments with 2.0 mg/L BAP with 3% sucrose (4.10±0.74c) and 1.5 mg/L BAP with 3% sucrose (4.20±0.92c). Considering the parameters recorded, treatments 1.5 mg/L and 2.0 mg/L BAP supplemented with 6% sucrose should be employed for the development of elite planting material. After successful hardening and acclimatization, the platelets were transferred to a field with a survival rate of 90%. The medium composition observed in the present study could be used for developing superior-quality plants of small cardamom through in vitro regeneration.