XVI International Botanical Congess

Regeneration of viable plants was obtained via organogenesis from mature embryonal axes explants of pigeonpea. Shoots were produced from the apical region of embryonal axes explants after 20 days of dark incubation on modified Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium containing 8.86 ?M benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1.07 ?M ?-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). When the explants were cultured under light- dark (16-8 hrs) conditions, shoots were initiated only after 90 days of culture initiation. The explants lost their ability to regenerate plantlets when they were cultured in continuous light. Regenerated shoots elongated either in the initial medium or in MS basal medium and sequentially produced simple, bifoliate and finally trifoliate leaves instead of producing trifoliate leaves directly. The elongated shoots were rooted efficiently upon transferring them to half strength MS medium supplemented with 2.4 ?M indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Rooted plantlets were successfully transferred to soil after hardening.