Tissue culture of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) in Pakistan

Black pepper (piper nigrum l.) the king of spices is a universal table condiment. it is extensively used in pakistani cuisines and herbal medicines and imported in bulk from neighboring countries. the black pepper vine is generally cultivated by seed because other vegetative propagation methods are slow and time consuming. therefore the tissue culture technique is considered more efficient and reliable method for rapid and mass propagation of this economically important plant. the present study was initiated to develop protocol for micro-propagation of black pepper vine. the stem,leaf and shoot tip explants from mature vine were cultured on ms medium supplemented with different concentrations of plant growth regulators (2,4-d,ba,iba). best callus was produced on ms medium with 1.5 mg/l ba by shoot tip explant. shoot regeneration was excellent on ms medium with 0.5 mg/l ba. the plantlets formed were rooted best on 1.5 mg/l iba. the rooted plants were transplanted in soil medium and acclimatized in growth room. the plants raised were test planted under the local conditions of hattar.