Micropropagation of Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce, An endangered tree of Pakistan

The present work was carried out to develop some newer techniques for the propagation of the endangered tree, Prosopis cineraria. For this reason, forcing of softwood shoots from large stem segments of P. cineraria was done. During dormant season, shoot were forced from large stem segments of jand. The large stem segments were placed in different growth media (Sand, peat moss and sawdust) under different environmental conditions (Dark and Natural). Results showed that peat moss logs produced the maximum number of shoots as compared to other tested media, sand and sawdust under both environmental conditions. Environmental conditions also had a significant effect as the dark condition gave promising results. Moreover, under natural condition, a fair number of shoots were produced in all media. But the sprouted logs soon turned dried due to harsh environmental conditions. While, the sprouted logs under dark conditions, on transferring into natural environment endured the harsh environment and established well. Therefore, the results suggests that this simple micropropagation technique developed for P. cineraria from stem cuttings can be exercised for large-scale rapid increase of this endangered tree.