Micropropagation Methods in Small Cardamom

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and is believed to be originated from the Western Ghats of Southern India. It is a cross-pollinated crop and therefore a lot of variability exists in its natural seed populations. Micropropagation techniques were developed for cardamom to obtain uniform plants in large numbers. The protocol has been transferred to several biotech firms in public and private sectors all over India for mass multiplication of elite varieties of cardamom. It is worthwhile to note that cardamom rhizomes cultured in MS medium with growth regulators produce friable callus for cell suspension culture, enhancing downstream studies.