Propagation and Conservation of Boswellia sacra

Abstract

Most Boswellia species are very important and rare, and a very small number of nurseries offer seeds and propagated plants for some Boswellia species. The present chapter reveals the environmental conditions and appropriate methods for Boswellia species propagation. Various Boswellia species grow under different environmental conditions. For example, some species can grow in the humid tropics and some grow in dry tropical regions; therefore, the soil medium can be different for these species. Similarly, the amount of water required for Boswellia growth varies from environment to environment and from season to season. For Boswellia plants, a basic vigorous growth fertilizer with balanced NPK and chelated metals are sufficient. Furthermore, clonal propagation using tissue culture techniques provides a substitute for the vegetative practices used in the past. This approach has the potential to provide a higher multiplication of uniform genotypes in a short time and provides a substitute for the species that are difficult to grow. In some Boswellia species, the rooting of stem cuttings was found to be a very easy, inexpensive and successful strategy for mass multiplication. Mostly, Boswellia seedlings grown in nurseries have reportedly grown poorly in the field. However, vegetative propagation through root cuttings is predicted to give good results in the field. In vitro techniques are used for the conservation of Boswellia species, as already reported by various researchers. Furthermore, a number of hormonal combinations were checked on various Boswellia species such as B. serrata, and some combinations were found to be successful for a few months.