1. Introduction. 2. Laboratory Organization and Equipment. 3. Media Preparation. 4. Collection, Sterilization, Excision and Culture. 5. Clonal Propagation. 6. Special Cultures. 7. Secondary Metabolite Production. 8. Pathology. 9. Nitrogen Fixation. 10. Storage of Cultures. 11. Genetic Modification. 12. Epilogue. 13. References. 14. Indices.

In Vitro Culture of Trees

The forests account for 29–34% of the land area on earth (FAO, 1963). Of this area approximately 60% are gymnosperms or softwoods; some 38% are angiosperms or hardwoods, with the remaining being made up of mixed forests. While most of the harvested material is used industrially, a significant portion of the hardwoods is utilized for fuel on a worldwide basis. It is generally accepted that the forests are being harvested at a faster rate than they are being regenerated, either naturally or artificially, hence, a shortage of wood and wood products has been forecasted for the end of this century (Keays, 1974). In addition, the rapid and disastrous effects of diseases, pests, and fires may jeopardize the very existence of certain tree species. Thus, there is an urgent need for larger numbers of improved, fast-growing trees (Thorpe & Biondi, 1984). At present, the tree improvement programs underway and the clonal propagation methods available offer only limited possibilities of achieving this goal.

Application of micropropagation to forestry

The plant breeders usually rescue inherently weak, immature or hybrid embryos to prevent degeneration. The successful production of plants from the cultured embryos largely depends upon the maturation stage and the composition of the medium. Abortion of embryos at one or the other stage of development is a characteristic feature of distant hybridization. For the first time successful embryo culture to obtain an interspecific cross between Linum perenne × L. austriacum was demonstrated by Laibach (1925, 1929). Since then several refinements have been made in embryo culture/embryo rescue techniques which have been a popular approach for raising hybrids from a number of incompatible crosses. Currently embryo rescue holds great promise not only for effecting wide crosses, but also for obtaining plants from inherently weak embryos, obtaining haploid plants as well as for shortening the breeding cycle.

Embryo rescue in plants -- a review

A protocol was developed for in vitro propagation of turmeric cv `elite' using young vegetative buds from sprouting rhizomes. The shoot buds produced multiple shoots when cultured on MS solid medium supplemented with benzyladenine and 1-naphthalene acetic acid. The effect of various cytokinins on shoot multiplication was studied by culturing the shoot tips on MS liquid medium supplemented with benzyladenine, benzyladenine riboside, kinetin, kinetin riboside, zeatin, 6-γ,γ-dimethylallylaminopurine, adenine, adenine sulfate or metatopolin each at 10 μM in combination with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (1 μM). Significant differences were observed between the treatments. Liquid medium was more favourable than agar medium for shoot multiplication. Among the various concentrations of agar tested, 0.4% and 0.6% were the best and produced the highest number of shoots per explant. Among the different carbohydrates tested, sucrose, fructose, glucose, sugar cubes, maltose, levulose and market sugar were found to be equally effective for shoot multiplication and xylose, rhamnose, lactose and soluble starch were inhibitory. Ninety five percent of the micropropagated plants survived in sterilized soil in paper cups and all of them survived in the field. Among 48 plants, two plants showed variegated leaves on the tillers. The micropropagated plants showed a significant increase in shoot length, number of tillers, number and length of leaves, number of fingers and total fresh rhizome weight per plant when compared with conventionally propagated plants. RAPD analysis of 11 regenerated plants using sixteen 10-mer primers did not show any polymorphism.

Micropropagation and field evaluation of micropropagated plants of turmeric

Juvenility, Maturation, and Rejuvenation in Woody Plants

Tissue culture of forest trees: Clonal multiplication of Tectona grandis L. (teak) by tissue culture

Tissue culture of forest trees—Clonal propagation of mature trees of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook, by tissue culture

Rapid multiplication of turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) plants by tissue culture

Utilization of tissue culture to isolate interspecific hybrids in Carica L.

Methods for the establishmentof callus cultures of maize (Zea mays), wheat (Trichum vulgare), rice (Oryza sativa) and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), which were viable on prolonged subculture in vitro, were described...

V. Jagannathan

Papers

Tissue culture of forest trees: Clonal multiplication of Tectona grandis L. (teak) by tissue culture

Tissue culture of forest trees—Clonal propagation of mature trees of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook, by tissue culture

Rapid multiplication of turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) plants by tissue culture

Utilization of tissue culture to isolate interspecific hybrids in Carica L.

Tissue cultures of maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum: Part I —Initiation of viable callus and root cultures