**2.** *In vitro* **propagation**

*Fragaria* species are propagated primarily by stolons, also called runners, and at a lesser extent by seeds [15, 16]. From a Horticulture point of view, micropropagation has been practised for more than 50 years. Micropropagated strawberry plant has been introduced to prevent most of the plant and soil transmissible diseases. Over the years various protocols have been established for *in vitro* propagation of strawberry. Adventitious shoot regeneration in strawberry has been widely done using different explants such as a leaf, leaf disk, sepals, petiole and root mainly for transformation studies [17]. The *in vitro* culture has been successful in the mass propagation of true-to-type strawberry plants. A protocol that enabled strawberry micropropagation in one step, i.e., shoots multiplication and rooting in the same culture medium, emerged as a better choice for micropropagation of strawberries than shoot proliferation, (on a cytokinin supplemented medium) with subsequent rooting of shoots. In 'Bounty' strawberry, zeatin at very low levels (1–2 μM) produced 2–3 shoots per explant, averaging 88% rooting incidence on a single culture medium [18]. An efficient micropropagation protocol is a prerequisite for an *in vitro* conservation programme.
