VOL. 7, NO. 10, OCTOBER 2012 ISSN 1990-6145 ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science © 2006-2012 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved. www.arpnjournals.com 820 THE EFFECT OF BAP AND THIDIAZURON ON IN VITRO GROWTH OF JAVA TURMERIC (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb) Suci Rahayu and Widiati Hadi Adil Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development, Jl. Tentara Pelajar 3A, Bogor, West Java E-Mail: uchie_sr@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Java turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb), a natural medicinal crop, has potential to be developed due to a great demand of raw material for Jamoe industry in Indonesia. A technology for rapid propagation such as in vitro propagation is required to meet the need of this crop. The aim of this research was to ascertain the effect of BAP either alone or in combination with Thidiazuron on the growth of Java turmeric through in vitro culture. The research was conducted at the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Tissue Culture Division, the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development, Bogor from January to June 2009. The research was arranged in a Fully Randomized Design with 10 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments consisted of MS medium enriched with BAP (0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 mg/l) either alone or in combination with 0.1 mg/l Thidiazuron. The results showed that 5 mg/l BAP was the best media for all growth components in terms of shoots number, shoot height, roots number, root length and leaves number. No effect of Thidiazuron was shown on shoot regeneration of Java turmeric. These findings suggested that a further research should be conducted to find out the appropriate concentration of Thidiazuron for inducing the growth of Java turmeric. Keywords: Curcuma xanthorhiza Roxb, micropropagation, BAP, thidiazuron, in vitro. INTRODUCTION Java turmeric (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb) is one of the raw materials of traditional medicine possessing function of anti-inflammatory and anti tumor (Sugaya, 1992). This commodity plays an important role in supporting the development of the traditional medicine industry in Indonesia. From very intensive studies worked by Indonesian and overseas researchers it had been resulted various products such as standard herbs, snack and soft drink, mints, even toothpaste and shampoo. As a result, the demand for this crop steadily increases and in turn the majority of Java turmeric from the main production areas such as Central Java and East Java can be absorbed by industries (Purwakusumah et al., 2008). A great demand upon Java turmeric has impact on the continuous, ample availability of planting material. On the other hand an efficient technology of Java turmeric propagation is so limited that it needs to be developed and attempted. This seems due to most of the studies more emphasizing on the crop function and marketing rather than agricultural aspect. One of the propagation methods that may be able to assure the sufficiency of planting materials is in vitro tissue culture. Through this technique, seedlings can be produced in a great number and short time. In addition, the seedlings produced from in vitro culture can be free from pests and diseases. On in vitro propagation, Benzyl Adenine Purine (BAP) is the most common cytokinin plant growth regulator used to induce cell differentiation. Another plant growth regulator that is also commonly used for in vitro propagation is Thidiazuron (TDZ). It is able to stimulate cell segregation and commonly used to induce shoots and somatic embryo (Kern and Meyer, 1986; Thomas and Katterman, 1986; Huetteman and Preece, 1993; Kanakis and Demetriou, 1993; Lu, 1993; Chand, et al., 1999). Hence, supplementing BAP and Thidiazuron either singly or in combination is expected to be able to trigger shoot growth of Java turmeric. According to Nielsen et al. (1995), a medium containing two different kinds of cytokinin could improve quality and number of produced shoots compared with that containing only one kind. The objective of this study was to ascertain the effect of plant growth regulator BAP and Thidiazuron on in vitro shoot propagation of Java turmeric. The findings of this study are expected to be guidance in developing in vitro regeneration of Java turmeric. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in the in vitro culture laboratory of the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development in Bogor, from January to June 2009. Shoots generated from in vitro culture of Java turmeric were used as explants. These explants were cultured on MS media (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) enriched with BAP (0, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 mg/l) either with or without Thidiazuron (0.1 mg/l). Sucrose (30 g/l) as carbon source and Gelrite (2.5 g/l) as solidifier were added into all media. As much as 25 ml of media was poured into each jam bottle and then the bottle was covered with aluminum foil. Prior to sterilizing with autoclave, the pH of the media was adjusted to 5.7. Sterilization was performed at 121 o C and 110 Kpa for 20 minutes. All cultures were placed on culturing racks in the room with 26 ± 2ºC air temperature and 1217 µmol m -2 s -1 light intensity using fluorescent lamp for 16 h/day.