Principles of Plant Tissue Culture

Abstract

Plant tissue culture is used to achieve many different objectives which have in common the growth of microbe-free plant material in an aseptic environment. The objective of this conference is the use of plant tissue culture as a plant production system for horticultural crops, and my role is to discuss the principles of plant tissue culture with respect to this objective. I have interpreted this to mean, to describe which plant tissue culture techniques we use and why we use them, that is, what are our reasons for proceeding in the way we do. Willy-nilly, some of the reasons are scientific and others are economic and marketplace-wise. I will not be dwelling on the latter even though it is of considerable and underlying importance. By marketplace-wise, I mean, we should have sound, realistic marketplace reasons for contemplating the use of tissue culture for a particular species. We should ask questions, such as: How is the species normally propagated in Nature and by Man? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these methods? What are the likely advantages and disadvantages of using, instead, tissue culture methods for its propagation? Are the advantages, more rapid multiplication? All-the-year-round propagation? A bushy habit? Elimination of viruses? How much will the research and development cost to achieve these advantages and are these costs likely to be justified by attaining the perceived advantages? Part of our research is to achieve stated objectives, and another part could be classified as production-line research aimed at cost-cutting and maximizing performance.