In vitro shoot regeneration of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) using different cytokinins

Fenugreek ( Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is an important vegetable, spice and medicinal legume plant used as fresh and dried leaves and seeds in many parts of the world. Fenugreek seeds contain polysaccharide galactomannan and different saponins and have anti-microbial activity. The study presents an efficient shoot regeneration protocols from 8 - 10 days old in vitro grown cotyledon node explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.05 - 0.80 mg/l kinetin, 0.25 - 1.0 mg/l 6 benzyladenine (BA) with 0 and 0.20 mg/l α naphtalene acetic acid (NAA) and 0.05 - 0.80 mg/l thidiazuran (TDZ) with 0 and 0.10 mg/l indole 3 butyric acid (IBA). All culture mediums were solidified with 0.22% gelrite. Maximum shoot regeneration and number of shoots per explant were recorded on MS medium supplemented with TDZ with or without IBA. Maximum of 22.21 shoots per explant were recorded on MS medium containing 0.40 mg/l TDZ. Presence of auxins in the culture medium positively increased the mean shoot length. Regenerated shoots were transferred to rooting media containing 0.1 - 1.0 mg/l IBA or NAA. Key words : Fenugreek , cotyledon node, hypocotyl, shoot regeneration.