In vitro Regeneration of Plants from Mature Nodal Segments of Zizyphus mauritiana. L

One third of India’s population is dependent on wood fuel for cooking their daily meals, which generates tremendous pressure on the scanty vegetation. Although we have modern technologies and fast developing industrial sector, gas and electricity are neither available nor affordable for this large section of the population. The predominant Zizyphus tree species can survive well in high temperature, slight frost and low rainfall. Their ischolar_mains penetrate deeply in to ground water level and so they do not compete for water with the crop plants (Leaky and Last, 1980). Most of species are scattered widely throughout tropical and subtropical arid regions. Several of these are categorized as “multipurpose trees” and are backbone of rural economy throughout the drier plants of the world. It is because of the dependence on these species that plants have become over exploited. Tremendous pressure exerted by both man and animal, resulted in complete removal of superior germplasm or in some cases plant species have become threatened (Ramawat and Nadwani, 1991). The situation has become compounded by various inherent biological problems.