in vitro propagation of oldenlandia umbellata l. – a highly medicinal & dye-yielding plant of coromandel coast

Oldenlandia umbellata L. is an ancient Indian herb used as a source of red dye and various medicinal products. In present study successful protocol has been developed for mass propagation of O. umbellata in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The explants, collected in the months of January-February respond well with 3.0 mgl-1 Benzylaminopurine (BAP) (13.9 shoots per culture). The shoots were multiplied good on MS liquid medium supplemented with 1.0 mgl-1 BAP + 0.5 mgl-1 Indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) (63.2 shoots per culture). 96% shoots were rooted through in vitro rooting method and about 83% shoots were rooted using ex vitro methods with help of auxins (Indole-3 butyric acid and IAA). The plantlets were hardened in green house.