In vitro propagation of bitter gourd （Momordica charantia Linn.） for field cultivation

The in vitro terminal bud and axillary of bitter gourd（ Momordica charantia Linn.） were used for tissue culture to establish a high-efficiency regeneration system，and the effects of different hormone combinations and culture medium on the adventitious bud induction，multiplication and radication for the in vitro of different ages were studied. The results showed that the in vitro of different ages could be induced well in appropriate induction media，with longer time needed for the induction of bud for older in vitro. It was found that the most appropriate induction medium for the adventitious buds induction and multiplication were MS + 6 - BA0.3 mg/L + NAA0.3 mg/L and MS + 6-BA0.1 mg/L；the appropriate radication media was MS + IBA 0.1 mg/L. Under the same culture condition，the seedlings from tissue culture had smaller plant growth but comparable fruit characteristics，earlier ripening time and higher uniformity，compared to the seed-grown seedlings，suggesting the importance of improved cultivation practice with application of tissue culture seedlings in bitter gourd field production.