TISSUE CULTURE BANANA (Musa sps.)
Banana and plantain are important staple foods that are critical to the nutritious and economic well being of millions of people throughout the developing word.
TISSUE CULTURE TEAK
(Tectona grandis)
Teak (Tectona grandis), is a genus of Tropical Hard wood trees in the family Verbinaceae, native to the south and southeast of Asia.
Bio Diesel Trees - Pongamia sps.
Pongam is a fast-growing evergreen tree which reaches 40 feet in height and spread, forming a broad, spreading canopy casting moderate shade
TISSUE CULTURE FIG (Ficus carica.)
AG Bioteck is the only organization producing tissue culture Fig plants in India from selected elite Plus Trees (Mother Plants) with desirable characters. AG Bioteck Tissue culture plants are processing and dry fruits.
TISSUE CULTURE TECHNOLOGY:
Tissue culture is the modern technology that is applied in the advanced countries for mass production of superior grade planting material for most crops.
Banana being a crop that is conventionally propagated by vegetative means, can easily be adopted for tissue culturing in a laboratory and the inherent benefits of the system can be successfully employed to fully exploit the economic potential of source of donor or mother plant material which are selected from a areas that have recorded disease free cropping several years. From such source, healthy, vigorous, high yielding donor plants of the desired banana cultivars are identified in the clonal selection process. Meristem tissue which is actively growing optical portion of bud is teased out from the basal corm of donor plants, surface sterilized and inoculated to on artificial nutrient media for initiation. Due to rapid cell division in the meristem region, it is devoid of systemic microbes, especially virus and viriods.
The initiated tissue, subsequently under disease free and controlled environment of a laboratory is multiplied several fold to obtain the required number of each cultivar depending upon the market demand. Periodically the rooted plantlets of banana are released from the laboratory to a climate controlled green house for acclimatization, which requires eight to twelve weeks to complete the hardening process. The hardened plantlets will have 4-5 leaves and well developed root system at the end of the period.
THE ADVANTAGES:
• The benefits arising by the use of Tissue culture banana plantlets over conventional suckers are:
• High yielding progenies of true-to type, uniform elite clones of different varieties available in large quantities in tissue culture process.
• Tissue culture banana plantlets are disease free at the time of planting and the same conditions can be maintained by proper crop management.
• Tissue culture vigor in the plantlets manifests better growth and performance in the field.
• Availability of tissue culture plantlets are not constrained by seasonal variation.
• Uniform maturity for the harvest of the fruits.
• Ratoon crop is a unique feature of Tissue culture plants.
• Market oriented planting of Tissue culture Banana plants gives better price.
• Saving of 3 – 4 months cultivation in the field. Three crops in 30 months duration.
AVAILABILITY OF TISSUE CULTURE PLANTLETS
Banana can be grown throughout the year, if perennial water supply is available for irrigation. Raising secondary nursery can be throughout the year. However, it is advisable to adjust the secondary nursery planting to pre mansoon periods in order to coincide with the monsoon season in that particular area. Off - season planting can be done in areas where perennial water supply is available for irrigation. The tissue culture Banana plants available in the following sizes.
A) PRIMARY NURSERY PLANTLETS:
The tissue culture banana plantlets available in netpots to an approximate height of 12 cm. with three to four leaves from Commercial Laboratories. The plantlets will be packed in open cartons or closed boxes and transported in pick-up-vans or trucks. These plantlets are to be grown in Secondary Nursery for 8-12 weeks prior to planting in the main field.
B) SECONDARY NUSERY PLANTLETS:
The Tissue culture Banana plantlets also available in poly bags to an height of 30 to 40 cm with 6 - 8 leaves from the Commercial Laboratories’ secondary nursery. These plants are ready for field planting.
GRADING:
Plants must be graded based on their height ( up to fork in terminal leaf) and girth prior to planting in the main field.
TRANSPLANATION TO THE MAIN FIELD:
Only after eight to twelve weeks growth in the secondary nursery, the plants can be transplanted to the main field. There is no need to cut back the pseudostem for tissue culture banana in polybags.