Abstract:
Plant tissue culture relies on a synthetic growth medium with macronutrients,
micronutrients, organic supplements, growth regulators, and solidifying agents. Agar,
the typical solidifying agent, constitutes 70% of the media cost. This study aims to
develop a cost-effective alternative medium. In this research, a cost-effective alternative
culture medium for plant tissue culture was developed, aiming to reduce the high cost
associated with traditional agar-based media. The study focused on utilizing kithul flour
as both a gelling agent and a nutrient source. Kithul flour was analyzed for various
characteristics, including moisture content, pH value, ash content, amylose content,
swelling power, and solubility. The novel growth medium was prepared by enriching
MS media powder with essential macro and micronutrients, sucrose, and myo-inositol.
The medium's solidification was achieved by varying the ratio of agar and kithul flour.
The effectiveness of this kithul flour-based medium in supporting shoot proliferation of
mustard seeds was investigated. A two-factorial experiment was conducted, with the
first factor being the type of gelling agent. The six treatments included, Agar: Kithul
flour ratio (T0= 5:0, T1= 1:4, T2=2:3, T3=3:2 T4=4:1 T5=0:5). The second factor was
the plant species Brassica spp. The results indicated that the T3 treatment (3 parts kithul
flour to 2 parts agar) demonstrated the most promise as an alternative to the costly
100% agar-based culture media. This kithul flour-agar blend effectively supported
micro propagation and minimal growth conservation of Brassica spp. The kithul flour
starch consistently provided a stable gel surface throughout the culture period, resulting
in optimal plantlet growth in terms of shoot number, shoot length, and leaf count.
Various treatments were applied, and significant differences in critical growth
indicators were observed. Notably, Treatment T3 showed comparable results to T1 and
T2 while outperforming other treatments. In conclusion, kithul flour, when incorporated
as a gelling agent in tissue culture media, demonstrates its potential as a cost-effective
and effective alternative, with promising results for plant propagation and growth
conservation.
