Authors:
Farah Fazwa, M. A., Norhayati, S., Syafiqah Nabilah, S.B., Noraliza, A., Nor Hasnida, H., Siti Suhaila, A.R. & Mohd Zaki, A. |
Abstract:
Labisia pumila is well known as queen of herb in Malaysia due to its phytoestrogenic activity that beneficial to women health. Since the raw material supply is limited, this study is aim to identify feasible propagation methods for future planting stock production of this herb. Three propagation techniques were investigated in this study namely seeds, leaf cuttings and tissue culture. Mother plants of Labisia pumila var. pumila taken from germplasm located in Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) were used in study. For seeds propagation, a total of 40 seeds were germinated in 100% or river sands and seedlings formed were then transferred to polybags. The growth of the seedlings was recorded for the period of 25 weeks. While for leaf cuttings, matured leaves were used and treated with Seradix 1 (0.1% IBA) before inserted into the rooting medium of the propagation bed. The observation on rooted cuttings was made during 3 to 12 weeks of cuttings. After 12 weeks, the rooted cuttings were transferred into growing medium consisting of top soil: leaf compost: sand (2:3:1) and observed for 25 weeks. For tissue culture technique, combinations of Murashige and Skoog (MS) media with 0.5 mg/L NAA were used for shoot development of L. pumila var. pumila. The established plantlets produced were transferred into greenhouse for acclimatization process for a period of one month. As results, all propagation techniques are able to produce planting stocks of L. pumila var. pumila with more than 80% survival rate. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that plants produced from tissue culture technique gave the highest leaf number (3.5) and stem height (3.2 cm) compared to other techniques. In conclusion all techniques can be used in multiplication of the species whether for small or large scale production depending on the costs and objectives. |
