Development of treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) culture medium for plant tissue culture of Hemianthus callitrichoides

Hemianthus callitrichoides is an ornamental aquatic plant that could be used for phytoremediation and aquarium decorations. In this study, POME culture medium was developed for the micropropagation of H. callitrichoides. The tissue culture of H. callitrichoides was carried out under temperature of 25 °C with 24 h of photoperiod for 15 days. Optimum strength of liquid MS medium for culturing the plant was determined. Liquid full strength MS medium had recorded maximum growth index of 7.34 ± 0.37 g/g in H. callitrichoides as compared to 1/2 MS, 1/4 MS and 1/8 MS. For different strength of POME culture medium, 1/2 strength POME had recorded highest growth index of 3.92 ± 0.37 g/g in H. callitrichoides as compared to full strength POME, 1/4 strength POME and 1/8 strength POME culture media. The MS components were introduced into POME culture medium to improve the propagation of H. callitrichoides. 1/2 strength POME medium with liquid full strength MS medium as supplements (Media E) was proven to be better than full strength MS medium (Media A) and other culture media due to its ability in suppressing the morphological changes that occurred in full strength MS medium and promote the maximum growth of H. callitrichoides. The reliance on treated POME as additional supplement towards the healthy growth of H. callitrichoides. Most importantly the availability of free treated POME do not contribute towards the additional cost of cultivation and prevent the reliance on high cost of commercial supplement.