(Vijayan et al.2004). Ahamad et al. (2007) used in
vitro screening to study the effect of NaHCO3 on various
characters of mulberry. They found that 59 mM NaHCO3
reduces the shoot length by 49.1 and 43.2% and the fresh
shoot weight by 83.8 and 70.2% in ‘Sujanpuri’ and the local
cultivar, respectively. Cell line cultures were also used to
develop salt-tolerant plants in mulberry. Kathiravan et al.
(1995) developed salt tolerant plants of the cultivar MR2 by
subjecting the callus continuously to 0.5% NaCl for 8
months. Regarding drought tolerance, Tewary et al.(2000)
screened five selected mulberry genotypes such as G2, G3,
G4, S13 and S34 for osmotic stress using 1.0-10% poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) to simulate osmotic stress using 14
different media combinations. Out of the 14 media combinations, the optimum responses were observed on 1 mg/l
Kn, in the case of G3 genotype, on 2 mg/l Kn with G2
genotype, on 1 mg/l BAP with G4 genotype and on 2 mg/l
BAP with S34 and S13 genotypes. S13 itself exhibited the
highest sprouting percentage and shoot growth compared to
the other genotypes. The genotype G3 has been identified as
suitable for drought prone areas.