RESEARCH ON IN VITRO MULTIPLE SHOOT REGENERATION OF RICE BEAN [Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi]

Abstract

Rice bean (Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & Ohashi) belongs to the genus Vigna which is one of the major crops in Vietnam. This plant is also known for many different roles such as: food, soil improvement, green manure and cover soil, especially in sloping areas. However, data on this plant is very limited in Vietnam nowaday. Moreover, rice bean has been reported to possess resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, thus it can be considered as a valuable gene source in improving tolerance of Vigna plants. Therefore, the identification of in vitro multiple shoot regeneration process of rice bean plays an important role due to their primary application of gene transfer of this crop. In this study, rice bean was successfully regenerated from in vitro tip shoots using seeds as the original material. After disinfection for 20 minutes with 60% javen, seeds were transferred to germination media to produce seedlings. The highest number of shoots were produced on MS + BAP 1.5 mg/l + sucrose 30 g/l + agar 9 g/l + coconut water 10%. In vitro shoots produced quality roots on MS medium supplemented with 0.3 mg/l IBA. Rice bean plants in vitro were successfully survival in the greenhouse on a substrate containing soil and husk with a ratio of 2:1.