Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

In vitro rooting and ex vitro acclimatization protocol for Cordyline terminalis (L.) Kunth

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.11153
Submitted
6 August 2025
Published
07-01-2026

Abstract

An efficient in vitro rooting and ex vitro acclimatization protocol was developed for Cordyline terminalis (L.) Kunth, commonly known as the Ti plant, an economically important ornamental foliage species. The study was conducted at the Biotechnology-cum-Tissue Culture Centre, All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Floriculture and Landscaping, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. Nodal segments were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for shoot initiation and organogenesis. Among the combinations tested, BAP (1.0 mg L-1) and NAA (0.5 mg L-1) induced the highest shoot proliferation and morphogenetic response. For rooting, both in vitro and ex vitro approaches were evaluated. In vitro rooting was achieved on plant growth regulator (PGR)-free half-strength MS medium, while ex vitro rooting was optimized using quick dips in indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 25 ppm, which yielded the highest rooting percentage (96.6 %), root number (3.6) and root length (3.90 cm) in potting mixture. Hardening was performed under open conditions, plastic cover and net house environments using various substrates. The highest survival (40 %) was recorded in the net house using a vermiculite + sand substrate, which although moderate, represented the most effective survival outcome under tropical field conditions. Additionally, nutritional standardization trials revealed that soil drenching with nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) (19:19:19) at 0.75 g plant-1 significantly improved plant height and leaf number, while foliar application enhanced leaf length and breadth. This comprehensive protocol demonstrates the potential for mass propagation of C. terminalis with high rooting efficiency and improved survival rate. The findings provide a practical, reproducible and cost-effective strategy for sustainable micropropagation and commercial-scale cultivation of this valuable ornamental species.

References

  1. 1. Das A, Sahu SC, Beuria R, Sahu DK, Mishra A, Panigrahi A, Pati A, Priyadarshini P. Investigating air temperature changes in Bhubaneswar city over 123 years from 1901 to 2023. Sci Rep. 2025;15(1):27389. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12746-5
  2. 2. Huxley A, Griffiths M, Levy M, editors. New Royal Hortic Soc dict gardening. London: Macmillan; 1992.
  3. 3. Rout GR, Samantaray S, Das P. In vitro manipulation and propagation of medicinal plants. Biotechnol Adv. 2000;18(2):91–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0734-9750(99)00026-9
  4. 4. Martin K. Rapid propagation of Holostemma ada-kodien Schult. through axillary bud multiplication and indirect organogenesis. Plant Cell Rep. 2002;21(2):112–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-002-0483-7
  5. 5. George EF, Hall MA, De Klerk GJ. Plant propagation by tissue culture. 3rd ed. Dordrecht: Springer; 2008. p. 65–175.
  6. 6. Holttum RE, Enoch IC. Gardening in the tropics. Singapore: Malayan Nature Soc; 1991.
  7. 7. George EF, Sherrington PD. Plant propagation by tissue culture. Basingstoke: Exegetics Ltd; 1993. p. 709.
  8. 8. Bhojwani SS, Dantu PK. Plant tissue culture: an introductory text. New Delhi: Springer; 2013.
  9. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1026-9
  10. 9. Hazarika BN. Morpho-physiological disorders in in vitro culture of plants. Sci Hortic. 2006;108(2):105–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.01.038
  11. 10. Kadleček P, Tichá I, Haisel D, Čapková V, Schäfer C. Importance of in vitro pretreatment for ex vitro acclimatization and growth. Plant Sci. 2001;161(4):695–701. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9452(01)00456-3
  12. 11. Jena SS, Tripathy L, Beura S, Dash SK, Maharana K, Jena P. In vitro optimization of protocol for micropropagation in Cordyline terminalis. J Adv Biol Biotechnol. 2025;28(6):880–912. https://doi.org/10.9734/jabb/2025/v28i62449
  13. 12. Ray T, Saha P, Roy SC. Micropropagation of Cordyline terminalis. In: Lambardi M, Ozudogru EA, Jain SM, editors. Protocols micropropag selected econ important hortic plants. Totowa: Humana Press; 2012. p. 269–77.
  14. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-074-8_21
  15. 13. Fisher JB, Tomlinson PB. Vegetative morphology of Cordyline terminalis. J Arnold Arbor. 1972;53(1):113–27. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.185779
  16. 14. Chisti Y. Biotechnology of pollution control. In: Doble M, Kumar A, editors. Biotreatment industrial effluents. Oxford: Elsevier; 2005.
  17. 15. Pospíšilová J, Tichá I, Kadleček P, Haisel D, Plzáková Š. Acclimatization of micropropagated plants to ex vitro conditions. Biol Plant. 1999;42(4):481–97. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1002688208758
  18. 16. Noor El-Deen TM, Abdul-Moneem NE. Evaluating plant growth regulators, medium strength and supporting method for optimum micropropagation of Cordyline ‘Atom’. Hortic Res J. 2025;3(2):15–30. https://doi.org/10.21608/hrj.2025.424687
  19. 17. Sanjeewa TA, Peiris SE. In vitro propagation of Cordyline terminalis cvs. Gold-Compacta and Red-Compacta. 2nd Annual Research Symposium; 2011. p. 28-31.
  20. 18. Mei-Lan L, Murthy HN, Park KY. Photoautotrophic culture conditions and photon flux influence growth of Lilium bulblets in vitro. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Plant. 2003;39(5):532–535. https://doi.org/10.1079/IVP2003440
  21. 19. Eltorky MG, Elmahrouk ME, Elmokadem H, El-Sammak H. Micropropagation and genetic variations of Cordyline terminalis cv. Red Top. J Adv Agric Res. 2018;23(2):328–49.
  22. 20. Khan SA, Naz SH, Saeed BU. In vitro production of Cordyline terminalis for commercialization. Pak J Bot. 2004;36(4):757–61.
  23. 21. Valenzuela-Sánchez KK, Juárez-Hernández RE, Cruz-Hernández A, Olalde-Portugal V, Valverde ME, Paredes-López O. Plant regeneration of Agave tequilana by indirect organogenesis. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Plant. 2006;42(4):336–40. https://doi.org/10.1079/IVP2006788
  24. 22. Tematio Fouedjou R, Tsakem B, Siwe-Noundou X, Dongmo Fogang HP, Tiombou Donkia A, Kemvoufo Ponou B, et al. Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological activities of the genus Cordyline. Biomolecules. 2023;13(12):1783. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13121783
  25. 23. Mini B. Induction of genetic variability in Musa sp. var. Nendran by in vitro methods. PhD thesis. Thrissur: Kerala Agric Univ.
  26. 24. Lavanya R. Blast. BSc Hortic thesis.
  27. 25. Krishna H, Hebbar S, Kumar P, Sharma S, Kumar R, Tiwari SK, et al. Navigating challenges and prospects in off-season vegetable production. Veg Sci. 2024;51:97-105. https://doi.org/10.61180/vegsci.2024.v51.spl.09
  28. 26. Hu CY, Wang PJ. Meristem, shoot tip and bud culture. In: Evans DA, Sharp WR, Ammirato PV, Yamada Y, editors. Handb plant cell cult. Vol 1. New York: Macmillan; 1983. p. 177–227.
  29. 27. Samal M, Abass S, Parveen R, Ahmad S, Iqbal M. Effect of abiotic stress on production of secondary metabolites in plants. In: Plants as medicine and aromatics. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2023. p. 145–72. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003226925-11
  30. 28. Abdullaha M, Waraich E, Ahmad M, Hussain S, Haider A, Ahmad Z, et al. Enhancing drought stress tolerance in soybean through silicon-induced modulations.
  31. 29. Ghosh SN, Tarai RK, Ahlawat TR. Plant growth regulators in tropical and subtropical fruit crops. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2022. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003300342
  32. 30. Basvantrao MC. Effect of foliar application of nutrients on growth, yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). PhD thesis. Rahuri: MPKV.
  33. 31. Deshmukh SK, Kochar M, Kaur P, Singh PP, editors. Nanotechnology in agriculture and environmental science. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003323945
  34. 32. Ding Y, Zhao W, Zhu G, Wang Q, Zhang P, Rui Y. Recent trends in foliar nanofertilizers: A review. Nanomaterials. 2023;13(21):2906. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13212906

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.