In Vitro Regeneration of Shorea parvifolia Dyer parvifolia
Shorea parvifolia Dyer ssp. parvifolia or locally known as meranti sarang punai, is a commercial timber tree species belonging to Dipterocarpaceae family. It has been identified as one of the potential fast growing indigenous species suitable for planting in the hilly areas. The trees are of great economic importance for its timber, particularly important for producing plywood, veneer, furniture, hardboard and particleboard. Despite the high economic
value of this species, the in vitro regeneration system for this valuable timber species has yet to be established. The development of in vitro regeneration systems will immensely speed up the production of plantlets to meet the current demands on improved planting materials for re-forestation, tree plantation and tree improvement
programme. In fact, the establishment of commercial tree plantations has the potential to supply the bulk of wood needs on a long-term basis, and thus reduce the harvest pressure on natural forests for wood production to an acceptable level. An on-going project at UNIMAS has established the micropropagation protocols for large-scale propagation of plantlets and development of an in vitro regeneration system for genetic modification of S. parvifolia Dyer parvifolia.
Developed by
Ho Wei Seng
