Tissue Culture Technology stirs the crowd at World Food Day

Hundreds of patrons who visited the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s exhibit at this year’s World Food Day activity were well informed about the use of Plant Tissue Culture technology.

“Our Actions are our Future: Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World,” was the theme for this year’s event. As such, NAREI believed it was appropriate to display Tissue Culture technology, which is crucial to our present and future agricultural practices, especially for a zero hunger world.

Dr. Oudho Homenauth, CEO of NAREI and Research Scientist, Samantha Brotherson interact with a visitor to NAREI’s boot

Staff of the Biotechnology Department took the lead in showcasing research being done in this regard at NAREI. Patrons- mainly students and farmers- were informed about the stages involved in Plant Tissue Culture:

Stage 0: Preparation- Identification of parent plant and reparation of stock solutions under hygienic conditions
Stage 1: Initiation: The establishment of new plants under laboratory conditions.
Stage 2: Multiplication: Rapid growth of material. New shoots are routinely placed in fresh media in new culture vessels.
Stage 3: Rooting: Roots are induced by adding plant hormones to the growth media
Stage 4: Weaning: The movement of plantlets from growth media to potting compost. This difficult stage requires controlled conditions of temperature, light and humidity.

Uses of Plant Tissue Culture
* Vegetative/ clonal propagation (micropropagation) of plants
* Storage of plants
* International and national transport of plant material
* Elimination of virus from plant tissue
* Breeding of selected plants

Benefits of Plant Tissue Culture
* All-year-round multiplication of planting material
* Use of small-sized explants to multiply plants
* Rapid bulking-up of plant material
* More secure storage of plant material (germplasm), compared to the traditional method of field storage
* More efficient utilization of space to store large numbers of plant containers

Visitors to the boot particularly farmers were intrigued with the use of the technology. The excitement of accessing pest and disease-free planting materials thrilled many. They were pleased to know that the Institute has a quantity in stock for distribution.

The Institute distributes pineapple and plantain plantlets free of cost to farmers. Breadfruit plantlets are sold for $1,500 per one, which is half the market price. Cassava and sweet potato are tissue cultured for germplasm storage.

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