Protocols for In Vitro Propagation, Conservation, Synthetic Seed Production, Microrhizome Production, and Molecular Profiling in Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Abstract

Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial but cultivated as annual, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. It is a native of India and South East Asia. The tuberous rhizomes or underground stems of turmeric are used from antiquity as condiments, a dye and as an aromatic stimulant in several medicines. Turmeric is an important crop in India and it is used as a spice, food preservative, coloring agent, cosmetic as well as for its medicinal properties. Propagation is done vegetatively with rhizome bits as seed materials. It is plagued by rhizome rot diseases most of which are mainly spread through infected seed rhizomes. Micropropagation will help in production of disease-free seed. Sexual reproduction is rare in turmeric, making recombinant breeding very difficult. In vitro technology can thus become the preferred choice and it can be utilized for multiplication, conservation of genetic resources, generating variability, gene transfer, molecular tagging, and their utility in crop improvement.