Dendrocalamus giganteus is one of the biggest and largest bamboo of
Bangladesh which is locally known as bhudum bansh. The conventional
propagation methods of bamboos are not economically viable for large scale
production due to their scarcity of seeds, low multiplication rate, labor intensive
and high cost. In vitro propagation is becoming a promising tool for conserving
and mass propagation of different bamboo species. In this study establishment
of a reliable and reproducible protocol for the micro propagation of D.
giganteus from axenic culture of in vitro germinated seedlings has been
reported. Highest 83.33% seeds were germinated on MS (Murashige and
Skooge 1962) medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L BAP (6-benzyl
-amino-purine) after 7 days of culture. MS supplemented with different
concentrations (0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 mg/L) of BAP and Kn
(6-furfuralaminopurine) at evaluated either singly or in combinations for
multiple shoot production. Maximum 16.33 numbers of young shoots per
culture were recorded in medium supplemented with MS + 3.0 mg/L BAP +
1.0 mg/L Kn + 4% sugar + 2.75 g/L after 28 days of culture. Rooting ability of
the shoots was assessed in half strength MS media supplemented with different
concentrations (0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 mg/L) of IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid).
The highest rooting percentage (66.67%) was achieved from the half strength
MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L IBA 2 after weeks of culture. The
rooted plantlets were successfully hardened in soil under greenhouse and
nursery of Silviculture Genetics Division, Bangladesh Forest Research
Institute. The survival percentage of tissue culture plantlets in nursery was
found to be 90-95% after 60 days of acclimatization. The protocol developed
through this study enable to produce large number of D. giganteus bamboo
seedlings for mass propagation in a short period of time.