Neeta Shivakumar

By Neeta Shivakumar

Ginger is the third most important spice used for its medicinal properties in day to day life. Ginger is one of the widely studied plants for its biochemical and medicinal properties. Biotechnological tools have played a pivotal role in the improvement of this plant species. Many in vitro techniques namely micropropagation techniques, somatic embryogenesis, somatic hybridization, germplasm conservation, transgenics and mutation breeding have been widely studied whereas less studied for haploid production, and cryogenic in ginger. Many of these have been used in the recent times for the improvement of ginger mainly because of the vegetative mode of propagation. Most varietal improvement programs of this species are confined to evaluation and selection of naturally occurring clonal variations. Problems faced in ginger breeding have so far been the very low genetic variation in ginger plant. Wide genetic variation is needed in plant breeding in order to search ideal plant types during the process of selection. Although traditional mutation breeding has lost its preeminent position, induced mutations continue to be in great demand with the assistance of various biotechnological tools. In vitro culture techniques provide an alternative means of plant propagation and a tool for varietal improvement. Here, is an attempt made to collect the information on the studies made in this regard and present the current status of research in ginger.

Part of the book: Ginger Cultivation and Its Antimicrobial and Pharmacological Potentials