An effective nutrient medium for asymbiotic seed germination and large-scale in vitro regeneration of Dendrobium hookerianum a threatened orchid of northeast India

摘要

Background and aimsDendrobium hookerianum is a rare and threatened epiphytic orchid of northeast India. Prospects for conservation would be strengthened by developing an in vitro method for mass propagation. Seeds are minute and difficult to use directly in the field for this purpose, being non-endospermous with a low nutrient content and dependent on a specific fungus for germination and early seedling development. Although produced in large numbers (2–3 million per capsule), <5 % germinate naturally in the wild. Our objective was to develop a rapid and successful method for in vitro propagation based on an initial in vitro asymbiotic seed germination step that achieved high percentages.