Author(s):

HS Chaitanya, Nataraja S and M Krishnappa

Abstract: Jasmine (in Kannada mallige) is an important traditional flower crop widely cultivated in the Southern and Eastern parts of India. Although more than 2,000 species are known, 40 species have been identified in India and 20 species are cultivated in South India (Bhattacharjee, 1980). Usual method of propagation observed in jasmine is layering and cuttings and these methods of propagation restricts the quantity of plants produced as they are dependent on season and climatic factors. Layering is a cumbersome method of propagation involving more time and also restricts the number of plants propagated from the shrub. According to Cai et al., (2007) long term cutting/layering has found to cause varietal degeneration, lack resistance and decline in flower production. Seed propagation though very rarely observed in wild varieties and certain species, is necessary for crop improvement through planned hybridization. Multiplication through suckers, grafting, budding and tissue culture has also been found successful. Tissue culture has emerged as a promising technique to obtain genetically pure elite population under in vitro conditions (Malik, 2007). Micro-propagation provides a fast and dependable method of production of a large number of uniform plantlets in a short time. Moreover, the plant multiplication can be continued throughout the year, irrespective of season and the stock of germplasm can be maintained for many years.

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