In vitro Propagation and Conservation Technique of Paraboea bhumiboliana Triboun & Chuchan

Paraboea bhumiboliana Triboun & Chuchan, a native plant species of Thailand, is classified in Gesneriaceae family. Its distribution is limited, particularly found on the limestone mountain peaks in Lamphun and Tak Province. This research was carried to study the propagation methods for P. bhumiboliana, starting with the evaluation of sterilization techniques by burning seed pod with flame, soaking seed in sterilized water and treating seed with 5% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) solution. The result showed that the immersion of mature seed capsules in 95% ethanol followed by burning the capsule’s outer surface was the optimum sterilization method which reached 55.55% non-contamination. The study on shoot multiplication by transferring plantlets to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium added with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and benzyladenine (BA) was also carried out. The findings revealed that 0.1 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.1 mg/l BA induced an average vigorous shoot at 12.1 shoots per explant. In vitro conservation through slow growth storage technique of P. bhumiboliana by culturing on MS, 1/2 MS, 1/4 MS and 1/8 MS. was attempted. It was revealed that after being cultured on 1/2 MS, the cultures maintained viabilities for 12 months without any subculture and developed their new plantlets.