Use of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) in the in vitro culture of Oncidium cebolleta (Jacq.) Sw.

Abstract

In vitro cultivation of orchids has been widely employed as an efficient alternative for the propagation of species with
difficult natural reproduction. In this context, the use of alternative plant-based supplements has proven to be a promising
strategy to optimize the growth and acclimatization of micropropagated plants. This study aimed to evaluate the growth
of Oncidium cebolleta protocorms in an alternative culture medium with different concentrations of Zingiber officinale
Roscoe, in order to establish the best concentration for the propagation of the species. The experiment was conducted in
a completely randomized design, with five treatments, five replications, and three protocorms per replication, using an
alternative culture medium containing sucrose, agar, activated charcoal, B&G® fertilizer, and coconut water, supplemented
with ginger extract at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1.5, and 2 g L–¹. After 130 days of cultivation, morphological and biometric
variables were evaluated. The concentration of 1.5 g L–¹ showed the best results for the length of the largest leaf, number
and length of roots, and total plant length. The results demonstrate that Z. officinale extract positively influences the in
vitro growth of O. cebolleta and can be considered a promising natural supplement for optimizing micropropagation and
acclimatization protocols of tropical orchids.

Keywords: Orchids; Micropropagation; Plant extracts; Alternative supplementation; Plant biotechnology.