Paper Title
Callus induction and in vitro plant regeneration of dioscoreaalata l.

Abstract
Dioscoreaalata L. (Purple greater yam) locally known as �ubibadak� in Malaysia is a yam species with tuberous roots. The tubers are usually intense purple in colour and are cultivated throughout the subtropical and tropical regions of the world for their edible tubers. This plant is well known for their antioxidant activity and very popular in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine. In Malaysia ubibadak is considered underutilized and received little attention. It is seasonal a crop whereby the tubers can be harvested only once a year and the dormancy period is around 5 months before germination during rainy season. Thus, in the present study, some tissue culture work has been carried out to mass propagate this plant. The effect of different plant growth regulators such as NAA (Naphthalene acetic acid), BAP (Benzyl aminopurine) were investigated on the callus formation and regeneration capacity of this interesting species. It was found that Murashige and Skoog�s (MS) medium supplemented with 2.0 mg L-1 NAA was the best for callus induction and our results showed that complete plant regeneration could be achieved on MS medium fortified with 1.0 mg L-1 BAP and 0.5 mg L-1 NAA. Stem explant was found to be the most responsive explant for callus induction and in vitro regeneration of this species. Index Terms- yam, callus induction, in vitro regeneration, Naphthalene acetic acid, Benzyl aminopurine.