What is Plant Tissue Culture

Cryptocoryne undulata in vitroPlant tissue culture is the practice of propagating plants in a sterile environment. Take plant material that is suitable for initiation and sterilize it. This plant material is known as an explant. The explant is put into a sterile jar of media with nutrients and plant growth regulators which helps it multiply. Once the plant has multiplied it is taken out and multiplied further, or rooted and grown out. In a couple of months, one cutting can create tens of thousands of plants.

Plant Tissue Culture: A Home-Based Guide (How to Practice Plant Tissue Culture on a Budget)

Plants can be manipulated with plant growth regulators. Plant growth regulators can make plant cells grow multiple new plantlets in a very short amount of time.

Plant tissue culture has four basic stages. The first one, and often most difficult, is initiation. Multiplication stage is where exponential growth occurs. Callus stage and multiplication stages grow new plant material either as shoots and plantlets or in the callus as a mass of undifferentiated cells to later be manipulated into more callus or plantlet shoots. Rooting is encouraged to produce a root system in order to be planted out. Plants are then hardened off so they can acclimate to life outside of the artificial conditions they were grown in.

Plant tissue culture is commonly used in large-scale terrestrial ornamental plant production, carnivorous plants, and aquatic plant production. A plant tissue culture lab could produce numerous plantlets, such as 25,000 plants a month for their customer. Upfront fees are common and payment is made when the plants were provided. This can be costly initially because of the scale of production. Why not do this yourself?

This book Plant Tissue Culture: A Home-Based Guide (How to Practice Plant Tissue Culture on a Budget) will teach you how to begin plant tissue culture at home with minimal investment. You can tailor your setup easily to your own needs and concentrate on one single plant species or a wide variety. Growing hundreds or tens of thousands of plants is a real possibility.

Check Also

Oxidizing agent burned my skin when not wearing gloves.

Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilant in Plant Tissue Culture

Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, when mixed, make a gentle but effective decontaminate. It works as …

Leave a Reply