Effect of glucose on in vitro rooting of mature plants of Bambusa nutans

A high-frequency in vitro rooting method was developed for Bambusa nutans, one of the economically important bamboos in India. Two clones of approximately 10-year-old B. nutans were used for axillary bud proliferation. The effect of carbohydrate source (glucose and sucrose) and auxins (IAA, IBA and NAA) on the in vitro rooting response was evaluated. Rooting percent, mean number of roots and root length were recorded after 14 days of treatment. Successful treatment (49.0 μM IBA and 88 mM glucose in the induction phase for 3 days followed by MS salts with 88 mM sucrose) was repeated four times each with 100 shoots to ascertain the practical utility of the protocol. Addition of glucose along with 49.0 μM IBA during the root induction phase gave 85% rooting success. Anatomical studies in the nodal regions were conducted to determine the effect of glucose on root primordial development and elongation. It was observed that the presence of glucose in the root induction medium is required to recruit more number of root initials. A simple protocol was developed for the large-scale production of B. nutans, where rooting of microshoots developed from mature tissues is always difficult. This study showed that glucose as carbon source and auxin type IBA is essential for in vitro root formation in the cultures raised from mature tissues.