In Vitro Induction of Adventitious Shoot Buds and Plant Regeneration from Leaf Explants of Coffea bengalensis Roxb.: A Wild Coffee Species

In vitro adventitious shoot formation from foliar explants of Coffea bengalensis Roxb. was achieved. Among various combinations of growth regulators tested, N6 benzyladenine (BA) was found to be the most effective in inducing shoot buds. Shoot buds are induced from the cut surface of foliar explants incubated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with either BA alone (2.5 - 10 mg l-1) or the combination of Indole -3-Acetic Acid (IAA, 0.1 - 1.0 mg l-1) and BA (0.5 -5.0 mg l-1). The frequency of shoot regeneration was positively correlated with the concentration of BA .The presence of IAA increased plant responsiveness to lower concentration of BA. The regenerated shoots were morphologically normal and successfully rooted on half strength MS medium supplemented with Indole - 3 butyric acid (IBA) (0.5 - 1.0 mg l-1). This is the first report of plant regeneration through direct adventitious shoot formation from the leaf explants of a wild coffee species.