In vitro studies in red dacca (Musa acuminata): an ornamental horticultural crop

Bananas (Musa) are non-woody, giant herbaceous perennial plants well-acquainted for their nutritious fruits and utile leaves. Cultivation practices used for crop improvement provide not only food security but also create employment opportunities to the growers. Red banana (Musa acuminata) not only possesses nutritive value but also decorates the ecology bearing red-colored inflorescence; which suits it well as an ornamental plant. To broaden our knowledge of red banana cultivation, we, therefore, targeted our research on this wild cultivar to achieve its high rate of production by standardizing in-vitro conditions of micropropagation. Axillary buds were used as explants for in vitro plant regeneration studies in Musa acuminata. MS media supplemented with growth regulators BAP (4 mg l⁻¹), and IBA (1 mg l⁻¹) suited well for 80% multiplication response and 63% root regeneration in the red banana cultures. Obtained plantlets were further acclimatized for hardening in the potting mixture of soil:FYM:sand (1:1:1) with a 92% survival rate. The current work executed for clonal propagation of this wild cultivar provides a forum for further research in molecular breeding programs.