Effect of Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) on shoot multiplication using peeled bulbil explants

Porang (Amorphophllus muelleri) is an Indonesian native plant with high value. Porang's value lies in its tubers. Porang tubers are rich in compounds that can control obesity and type 2 diabetes. The compound is glucomannan. Very high market demand for porang encourages the expansion of porang land from year to year. Unfortunately, the expansion is not matched by the availability of sufficient seeded material. Provision of porang seeded through tissue culture has been carried out to overcome this problem. Various parts of the porang plant have been used as explants, except for peeled bulbil. In this study, we wanted to know the effect of BAP (benzyl amino purin) on shoot production of peeled bulbil. There were four concentrations of BAP which used (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ppm with the base hormone IAA0.05 ppm) with 5 bottles of replication for each treatment. Parameters observed included shoot emergence time, total number of shoots, number of dominant shoots (big shoots). The effect of the treatment was analysed using one-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey 0.05 test. Additional parameters in the form of seedling observations which included fresh weight, length and diameter of petiole, number of leaves, crown diameter, weight and thickness of tuber were measured. The results showed that up to 8 weeks of culture no shoots produced, only compact callus appeared. The next step was subculture, shoots appear 4 weeks of subculture with an average number of shoots was 2-8. In sub-culture 2, 5-16 shoots were produced. The highest total number of shoots was in the treatment I0.05B5 (16 shoots). In the sub-culture 2, there were two type shoot sizes, big and small. The highest number of the big shoots were produced by I0.05B4, while the highest number of small shoots were at I0.05B3. Shoots derived from I0.05B3 were acclimatized to seedling. Result of measurement characters vegetative of seedling were 1.95 g (Fresh weight), 10,44 cm (petiole height), 2.23 mm (petiole diameter), 1.6 (number of shoots), 6.9 cm (canopy diameter), 5 (number of leaves), 8.73 mm (diameter of tuber), and 8.76 mm (thickness of tuber).