Propagation of Rauvolfia Serpentine Benth. Ex Kurz : A Small Approach Towards Creating Awareness for Its Conservation and Propagation

Abstract

Rauvolfia serpentine, Benth. Ex Kurz (Family. Apocynaceae), commonly referred as Sarpagandha, its root has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicines for the treatment of mental disorders and antihypertensive. There is a great demand for the alkaloids as well as the raw drug in the National and international market. Its Seed germination rate is highly variable from 5 to 30 percent. It is cultivated on a small scale in India.IUCN has kept this plant under endangered status. The consumption of the raw drug is substantial in the indigenous drug market. This is possible only if the plant is brought under large-scale cultivation in agro climatically suitable areas. Due to this purpose, we carried out experiment for their propagation and conservation. In this experiment propagation was done by seeds in the month of August-September 2013, in poly house and outside the poly house, in coco peat and in soil medium. It is observed that the germination rate of seeds was more in poly house condition and coco peat media rather than outside the poly house and traditional sowing of seeds in the soil media. However it is observed that the acidic pH of soil i s more suitable for healthy growth of R.serpentine but this experiment shows that it was remarkable grow in alkaline pH also. In this experiment, maximum germinate rate of R. serpentine was observed in coco peat medium and poly house condition which will be helpful for conservation, maximum propagation and mass cultivation of R. Serpentine.