Abstract

Rauvolfia serpentina (L). Benth. ex Kurz. (Apocynaceae) commonly known as Sarpagandha, is an important medicinal plant. It is rapidly disappearing and is now listed as an endangered species. The seeds are non-viable and regeneration with seeds also does not allow true-to-type multiplication. Therefore, the study influence of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) in plant renaissance of Rauvolfia serpentina was undertaken to examined the role of (IBA) for their stimulatory effects on Rauvolfia serpentina. The germplasm was collected from different sites of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Twenty cuttings were planted in four replications. Four IBA treatments viz. 4000 ppm, 5000 ppm, 6000 ppm and 7000 ppm and control were applied. Data on rooting and plant percent were recorded after twelve weeks of planting. In this study Rauvolfia serpentina, 7000 ppm IBA generally showed better rooting and plant percent than other IBA concentrations. Rooting percentage among all germplasm collections and all IBA concentrations, except control, ranged from 50.0 to 62.5 per cent while plant percent varied from 45.0 to 56.3 per cent. The performance of 4000 ppm was significantly lower than 7000 ppm. Thus, irrespective of source of germplasm, this species could be reliably propagated with 7000 ppm IBA.

Key words: germplasm , indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) , medicinal, threatened, treatments.