Conservation of wild bananas (Musa Spp) through seeds and improved regeneration through seed treatments

Abstract

Banana belongs to the family Musaceae with central East Asia as its centre of origin. India is rich in bio-diversity for these species but hazards of modernization are giving a threat to wild species of banana for their in-situ conservation. These species are good source of resistant genes for biotic and abiotic stress. Because of their female fertility, the seeds cam be made use of in conservation. But the seeds do not show consistent germination which involves lot of factors. Hence in this study an attempt has been made to study the seed germination behaviour and to improve the germination of banana seeds by treating with various hormones. Also embryo culture has been tried under different conditions. GA pretreatment of seeds has given good results under in vitro conditions.