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Standardization of Gurmar ( Gymnema sylvestre R. Br.) propagation in climatic condition of Jharkhand

Vishwa Raj Lala* & Radha Krishna Jhaa
Biotechnology Laboratory, University Department of Botany
Ranchi University , Ranchi

Received 17th December, 2011; Revised 24th January, 2012

Abstract : Most medicinal plant species have become rare due to over exploitation from natural habitats. In general, a little emphasis has been placed on production of planting material for commercial cultivation of medicinal plant species. G. sylvestre is one of the important medicinal plant species, which is rare in nature due to poor seed germination¹. The plant is being used extensively in herbal formulation to bring about blood glucose homeostasis³. Gymnemic acid², the active principle obtained from the leaf of the plant has anti diabetes property².
Planting materials of Gurmar were collected during March 2009 from ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region Research Centre, Plandu , Ranchi. The attempt for its production and conventional propagation is hampered due to its poor seed viability¹², low rate of germination¹³ and poor rooting ability of vegetative cuttings. Alternative propagation methods would be beneficial in accelerating large scale multiplication , improvement and conservation of the plant.
An experiment was conducted to standardize the type of propagation material (softwood, semihardwood and hardwood) and growth regulators ( IBA, NAA, IAA) for  propagation of G. sylvestre, The effect of the environment and plant growth regulators on the rooting of G. sylvestre cuttings was studied in Ranchi, Jharkhand,  India. The softwood, semihardwood and hardwood cuttings were treated with different concentration of  IAA (1000ppm, 1500ppm and 2000 ppm), IBA (1000ppm, 1500ppm and 2000 ppm), NAA (1000ppm, 1500ppm, 2000ppm) were treated using the ‘quick dip’ method and pregnant cow’s urine for 5 minutes plus a control and rooted under mist chamber and open conditions. Data were recorded for rooting percentage, longest root length, number of new leaves, days taken for sprouting. In general, semihardwood cuttings treated with 1000 ppm IBA gave the highest rooting percentage (68.50%), longest root length (30.25 cm) and number of new leaves. The hardwood cuttings treated with 1000 ppm IAA and 2000 ppm IBA gave the earliest days taken for rooting and sprouting respectively. The hardwood cuttings treated with 1500 ppm IAA or 2000 ppm IBA gave the highest field survival. Rooting was slow in NAA and in the absence of hormone treatment. It is concluded that these medicinal plants can be successfully propagated vegetatively by treating with IBA, IAA or NAA, for large-scale multiplication in times of low seed availability.

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