Celosia argentea (L.) var. plumosa, distinguished by its vivid, flame-shaped flowers, has become an essential part of international floriculture and urban landscaping but is mostly available and propagated as mixed seeds. With the escalating demand for this multipurpose plant species, a sustainable supply of uniform and true-to-type plantlets is required. A study was conducted to develop an efficient protocol for micropropagation and in vitro flowering of C. argentea var. plumosa using shoot tip explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different plant growth regulators. Among the three cytokinin sources evaluated for in vitro shoot multiplication and precocious flowering, 6-benzyladenine (BA) was found to be most effective. The highest number of shoots (2.50) and maximum shoot length (37.50 mm) were recorded at 1.5 mg L−1 BA. Notably, in vitro flowering was also induced under BA treatments, with earlier flower induction (17.00 days) and higher (2.67) flower production at 1.5 mg L−1. In contrast, kinetin and meta-Topolin (mT) showed limited effectiveness in shoot multiplication, primarily promoting shoot elongation rather than proliferation, but without any flower induction. Root initiation from in vitro shoots was significantly influenced by auxin and basal media strength. Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) proved more effective than indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), with the best rooting response observed in ½MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L−1 IBA, producing the highest number of roots (20.33) and maximum root length (37.67 mm). Higher auxin concentrations negatively affected rooting, indicating the requirement of an optimal threshold concentration. Acclimatization was successfully achieved using cocopeat followed by open-field transfer, ensuring 90% survival. Genetic stability of regenerated plants was confirmed using flow cytometry and start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism marker analysis, which revealed no variation in ploidy level and banding pattern, respectively, compared to the mother plant. Statistical validation using multivariate tests supported the significance of observed differences. Overall, the study established a reproducible and efficient protocol for large-scale propagation and in vitro flowering of C. argentea var. plumosa, with potential applications in commercial floriculture programs.

Development of protocol on micropropagation, in vitro flowering and clonal fidelity assessment of Celosia argentea (L.) var. plumosa

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发表日期：

2026年7月29日

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Jayoti Majumder Sarkar,
Sandipan Bandyopadhyay,
Saikat Gantait

摘要

Celosia argentea (L.) var. plumosa, distinguished by its vivid, flame-shaped flowers, has become an essential part of international floriculture and urban landscaping but is mostly available and propagated as mixed seeds. With the escalating demand for this multipurpose plant species, a sustainable supply of uniform and true-to-type plantlets is required. A study was conducted to develop an efficient protocol for micropropagation and in vitro flowering of C. argentea var. plumosa using shoot tip explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different plant growth regulators. Among the three cytokinin sources evaluated for in vitro shoot multiplication and precocious flowering, 6-benzyladenine (BA) was found to be most effective. The highest number of shoots (2.50) and maximum shoot length (37.50 mm) were recorded at 1.5 mg L⁻¹ BA. Notably, in vitro flowering was also induced under BA treatments, with earlier flower induction (17.00 days) and higher (2.67) flower production at 1.5 mg L⁻¹. In contrast, kinetin and meta-Topolin (mT) showed limited effectiveness in shoot multiplication, primarily promoting shoot elongation rather than proliferation, but without any flower induction. Root initiation from in vitro shoots was significantly influenced by auxin and basal media strength. Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) proved more effective than indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), with the best rooting response observed in ½MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L⁻¹ IBA, producing the highest number of roots (20.33) and maximum root length (37.67 mm). Higher auxin concentrations negatively affected rooting, indicating the requirement of an optimal threshold concentration. Acclimatization was successfully achieved using cocopeat followed by open-field transfer, ensuring 90% survival. Genetic stability of regenerated plants was confirmed using flow cytometry and start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism marker analysis, which revealed no variation in ploidy level and banding pattern, respectively, compared to the mother plant. Statistical validation using multivariate tests supported the significance of observed differences. Overall, the study established a reproducible and efficient protocol for large-scale propagation and in vitro flowering of C. argentea var. plumosa, with potential applications in commercial floriculture programs.