Abstract

A feasible plant regeneration protocol was established for economically important plant, black pepper. Callogenesis was induced from petiole explants of potted plants incubated on murashige and skoog (MS) - medium supplemented with different concentrations of several phytohormones (PGRs). The best callus induction (85%) was observed for MS-medium supplemented with 0.5 mg l^-1 6 - benzyladenine (BA) after 04 weeks of culture. Subsequent transfer of callus to MS medium containing similar PGRs induced shoot regeneration. Highest shoot regeneration (92%) was recorded for 0.5 mg l^-1 BA after 5 weeks of transfer. Furthermore, 8.1 shoots/explant were recorded for 0.5 mg l^-1 BA. Addition of 2.0 mg l^-1 of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) produced 5.1 cm long shoots with 85% shoot organogenesis. Shoots produced healthy plantlets when transferred to MS medium containing several concentrations of indole butyric acid IBA. Regenerated plantlets were transferred to pots for acclimatization.

Key words: Piper nigrum, callus, organogenesis, petiole, 6-benzyladenine.