Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (MJSA)

Ficus carica or commonly known as fig plant is a deciduous plant originated from southwest Asia and eastern Mediterranean. It has many benefits in medical field especially to treat diseases such as rheumatism and haemorrhoids due to its high laxative activity effect. The main objective of this study is to develop in vitro clonal propagation method for rapid production of Ficus carica variety BTM-6 plantlet using different plant growth regulators (PGRs) through shoot induction and multiplication, rootings and subsequent establishment in soil following acclimatization. Surface sterilisation of the explant was done using sodium hypochlorite as the disinfectant. Pre-treatment of the explants with carbendazim successfully reduced the occurrence of fungal contamination. To investigate the effect of plant growth regulators on shoot induction, explants were cultured in different concentrations of PGRs either singly or in combination. No shoot and root inductions were observed but calli were successfully induced on MS medium containing 2 mg/l BA only, 2 mg/l BA in combination with 0.5 mg/l NAA and MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BA in combination with 0.5 mg/l NAA. A further in-depth study using other different types of plant growth regulators at various concentrations is required in order to establish a complete tissue culture protocol of this particular plant species.