The shallot is basically a cultivar of the onion and Allium cepa is the correct name for the shallot species. Shallot is one of the vital commodities of spice vegetables, even though not a necessity, but this commodity is almost always desirable by the consumers. It is used as a raw material for the food industry, seasoning dish, and an active ingredient of traditional medicines. Fajarika et al. (2019) stated that there are superior local shallot commodities in the province of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia that have been recognized by the central government as the national superior shallot. Shallot c.v. lembahpalu that is also known as Allium wakegi Araki is a vital commodity that provides business opportunities because it is the key ingredient of fried shallot Palu. One of the major causes of the decline is the limited accessibility of quality seeds and the lack of seed production technology.
Conventional seed propagation by using tubers has not been able to meet the needs of farmers. Thus, efforts should be made to induct tissue culture techniques to provide seeds quickly. Available research work provided the information of better protocol for shallot propagation by sterilization techniques, callus induction, and plant regeneration through embryogenesis. The addition of growth regulators from the cytokinin group combined with auxin increased the interaction of plantlet production and the number of leaves of Allium ascalonicum. Nonetheless, the use of other organic materials that have been proven for a long time to improve conventional plant growth, namely seaweed has never been tested in vitro.
Sharma et al. (2012) confirmed the presence of indoleacetic acid content in acid extracts of five seaweed species. Bio-stimulant activity through bioassay using Vigno mungo L. plant with various extract methods from the five types of seaweed have the ability to increase the dry weight and accelerate the growth of root stem cuttings.
Yusuf et al. (2019) studied that bioassay using soybeans for numerous types of seaweed proved that Caulerpa sp. commonly found in Banggai Kepulauan District Central Sulawesi with the local name Lato, responded better than other types of seaweed as compared to growth regulators to outgrowth the germination of soybean.
Novel research published in the Asian Journal of Plant Sciences conducted by Yusuf et al. (2021) to determine the initiation of shallot shoots of lembah palu variety on various concentrations of seaweed extract and 6-Benzylaminopurine, benzyl adenine (BAP) in vitro.the resuktes indicated that the addition of both seaweed extract and BAP on higher concentration about 40% and 4 ppm raised the shoots faster, however, it was the negligible difference with the treatment of 20% of seaweed extract without BAP.