ABSTRACT The research was aimed at investigating the most responsive part of Moringa oleifera Lam. that can serve as explant for in vitro culture propagation procedure. The phytohormones: 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) at concentrations of 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0mg/l; Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at concentrations of 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0; Benzyl amino purine (BAP) at concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, and 10.0, and kinetin at concentrations of 0.0, 0.1 and 1.0mg/l, either singly or in combination were used for supplementing Murashige and Skoog’s medium. The test parts of M. oleifera plant (leaf, cotyledon stem and seed) were each used to initiate in vitro cultures. After 3 weeks of culture initiation, the effectiveness of the morphogenetic response was determined using an assigned callus intensity scale. By a way of comparison, the results obtained indicated that callus can be generated from all the test plant parts, with the leaf tissue being the most responsive. The optimal amount of phytohormone to be used singly for MS media supplementation was NAA at 10mg/l, while in combination, the optimum amount of hormones to be used was 5 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.1 mg/l kinetin. The seed explant seemed to be the least responsive for callus production, with the cotyledon more responsive than the stem.
