In vitro tuberization and plant regeneration in Bunium periscum Bioss

Bunium persicum (Apiaceae) is a wild herbaceous plant growing in dry temperate region of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (18003300 m). Seed is used as a prized condiment for flavoring dishes and as a carminative in ayurvedic medicines. The plant propagates by seeds and has been reported to have becomes a rare in its natural habitat because of excessive seed collection for commercial purposes (Raina and Jamwal, 1990). Two major problems encountered in the cultivation of this species are poor seed germination and long seed to seed cycle (4-5years). In vitro plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis has been achieved from callus derived from mericarp (Wakhlu et al., 1990) but no further studies on development of microtubers have been carried out. Hence, the present study was undertaken to establish protocol for in vitro tuberization and plant regeneration from somatic embryo plantlets.