CLONAL PROPAGATION OF MATURE ELITE TREES OF COMMIPHORA-WIGHTII

Elite trees of Commiphora wightii (Arnott) Bhandari were selected from the wild on the basis of their content of guggul, an oleoresin. The selected tree was micropropagated through forced axillary branching on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin. Highest frequency of shoot formation was achieved on MS medium supplemented with 17.8 mu M BA, 18.6 mu M kinetin, 100 mg l(-1) glutamine, 10 mg l(-1) thiamine HCl and 0.3% activated charcoal. Seasonal changes affected the shoot proliferating potential of the initial explants in vitro. Transfer of shoots to a medium containing a lower concentration of BA (1.8 mu M) and kinetin (1.9 mu M) before rooting markedly stimulated shoot elongation. Shoots could be rooted by treating them with both indoleacetic acid and indolebutryic acid for 24 h in darkness and transferring them to a low-salt basal medium with activated charcoal. After rooting, transfer to a half-strength White's (modified) medium was necessary for further development of the plantlet. Regenerated plantlets were successfully established in soil.