Surface sterilization and explants sizing
All the pre explants were thoroughly washed with sterilized distilled water followed by a dip in solution of 20% bleach and few drops of tween20 (polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate) for 15 minutes with constant shaking. After this treatment, the pre-explants were given 4–5 thorough washings with autoclaved double distilled water to remove any trace of the Bleach and few drops of tween 20. Stem nodal segments of 1.5 cm in size were cut under sterile conditions as per the steps mentioned above. All the explants were cultured in the Murashige and Skoog media. The cultures were incubated at 25°C under 16-h photoperiod provided by cool white fluorescent tubes. The cultures were observed periodically