Activated Charcoal, Ascorbic Acid and Phloroglucinol Control Callus Browning and Induce Indirect Organogenesis in Ficus religiosa L.

Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) is a long-lived valuable multi-purposed forest tree. The tree is exploited due to its ornamental and medicinal value and is used in religious ceremonies. The propagation rate in natural habitat is low. The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of ascorbic acid, phloroglucinol and activated charcoal in controlling callus browning and shoot multiplication in in vitro culture of Ficus religiosa plantlets using callus from leaf segments. The treatments included various concentrations of ascorbic acid (500 and 1000 mg/l), phloroglucinol (100 and 200 mg/l) and activated charcoal (2 and 4 g/l) added to the basal MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l BAP along with 0.1 mg/l IBA. The culture medium containing 1000 mg/l of ascorbic acid controlled callus browning effectively. In this medium the least number of sub-cultures (2-3) were carried out. The highest regeneration frequency (100%), the maximum number of multiple shoots (5.56) and the highest number of subcultures (11.33) were obtained on basal medium supplemented with 200 mg/l phloroglucinol. Finaly, the results of the current study revealed that production of phenolic compounds of explants was significantly controlled by incorporating higher levels of ascorbic acid and activated charcoal into the culture medium.