Improving Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk.) Plantlet Formation Using Various Types and Concentrations of Auxins

Abstract

<p><em><span lang="EN-US">Aquilaria malaccensis</span></em><span lang="EN-US"> Lamk</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"> is one of the most </span><span lang="EN-US">widespread</span><span lang="EN-US"> agarwood-producing plants </span><span lang="EN-US">that</span><span lang="EN-US"> face extinction due to overexploitation. Agarwood propagation using <em>in vitro </em>culture techniques is capable of producing large quantities of plants in a shorter time and free from pests and diseases. </span><span lang="EN-US">Therefore, this </span><span lang="EN-US">study</span><span lang="EN-US"> was conducted to analyze</span><span lang="EN-US"> the effect of auxins type and concentration on agarwood plantlet formation using a split-plot design. The main plot was the type of auxin which included IAA, IBA and NAA</span><span lang="EN-US">, while the</span><span lang="EN-US"> subplot was the concentration used which consisted of 0; 5; 10; 15 and 20 µM. The variable observed was agarwood plantlet formation with parameters measured including the number of shoots</span><span lang="EN-US"> and</span><span lang="EN-US"> leaves, plant height, and number of roots. The results showed that the formation of agarwood plantlets was controlled by the type, concentration, and interaction between the type and concentration of auxin. Furthermore, explants cultured on Murashige Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 10 µM IBA produced the highest number of shoots (3.39 shoots explant<sup>-1</sup>) and leaves (7.25 leaves explants<sup>-1</sup>), while the addition of 10 uM NAA resulted in the highest number of roots (2.52 roots explant<sup>-1</sup>). This is the first time a study is conducted to evaluate the effect of type and concentration of auxins on agarwood plantlet formation</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"> The production of high-quality shoots and plantlets increased agarwood germplasm availability to prevent extinction and support sustainable production.</span></p>