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Himachal Pradesh, situated between the latitudes 30°22' to 33°12' N and longitudes 75°4' to 79°4' E, supports natural, unique, and socio- economically important orchids represented by 84 species in 43 genera. Vanda cristata commonly known as Comb Vanda and Comb Trudelia, is an epiphyte with high medicinal and horticultural values. It is used as tonic and expectorant and also to treat fever, cough, bronchitis, tonsillitis etc. It also has anticancerous and antibacterial properties. Because of the over-exploitation for the medicinal properties of this plant, natural populations are declining at a very rapid pace. Keeping this in mind, presently an attempt was made to culture immature seeds procured from green capsules (27 wap) on half and full strength MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) nutrient media augmented with different growth hormones such as auxins (NAA- 2.6 µM and 5.3 µM) and cytokinins (BAP- 2.2 µM and 4.4 µM) for its mass propagation. Cent per cent germination was observed in all the nutrient combinations of both half and full strength MS media. ½MS basal medium   showed earliest seed germination (9.25±0.25 days), favoured formation of green and healthy protocorms. MS medium supplemented with NAA (5.3 µM) induced early rooting and complete seedling development was observed in 61.25±0.47 days of inoculation. In another experiment, 2-3 leaved shoot buds were subcultured on ½MS medium supplemented with auxins (NAA- 2.6 µM and 5.3 µM /or IAA- 2.8 µM and 5.7 µM) to assess the effect of these hormones on the rooting of V. cristata. ½MS medium augmented with IAA (5.7 µM) was observed as an optimal nutritional combination for early root formation (5.25±0.25 days). The protocol can be successfully utilized for rapid mass multiplication of V. cristata and aid in alleviating the collection pressures on its natural populations.

https://doi.org/10.64873/JOSI.v35.i1-2.25-33