Tissue culture is a process that involves exposing plant tissue to a particular regimen of nutrients, hormones, and light under sterile, in vitro conditions to produce many new plants, each a clone of the original mother plant, over a very short period of time. Their tissue culture plants are characterised by disease free growth, a more fibrous, healthier root system, a bushier branching habit, and a higher survival rate.

There are three main steps to the tissue culture process. Following these three stages, the plants are then moved from the laboratory to the greenhouses for acclimatisation and further development.

• Stage 1 – Is the initiation phase. It concerns the establishment of plant tissue in vitro by sterilising the material and initiating it into a culture.

• Stage 2 – Is the multiplication phase. At this point, the in vitro plant material is redivided and placed in a medium with plant growth regulators that induce the proliferation of multiple shoots. This process is repeated many times until the number of plants desired is reached.

• Stage 3 – Is the root formation phase. It involves the introduction of hormones to induce rooting and the creation of complete plantlets.

Plant tissue culture technology has proven itself to be an efficient and viable option for growers to seriously consider in a variety of different situations.

When large-scale propagation of new or superior plant varieties is required for early introduction to the market. Following a decision to release a new variety into the market, the key to success for growers is rapid scale-up and production on a commercial level. Tissue culture is often the fastest and most economical means to achieve this goal. We suggest that growers continually compare the cost of conventional propagation methods to micropropagation, especially when conducted by an established tissue culture company with a proven track record of mass propagation. When mass multiplication is needed for varieties which are difficult to regenerate by conventional methods of propagation it is often the case that new or highly valued plant varieties are also the most difficult to propagate using traditional means. Here again, tissue culture technology can be very helpful to growers. The speed of plant multiplication and the quality and uniformity achieved by the micropropagation process can be considerably superior to conventional methods.

When disease-free plant propagation is necessary. One of the inherent requirements of the tissue culture process is that it be conducted in sterile, aseptic conditions. This results in plants that are generally free of bacterial and fungal diseases. This aspect of tissue culture is particularly useful for growers that are propagating plant varieties that have major systemic disease problems.

The tissue culture process takes place in sterile conditions and uses hormones that have been shown to have a carryover effect once plants are moved to external conditions. Furthermore, tissue culture leads to the regeneration of whole plants, with their own full root systems and vigorous top growth like young seedlings. As a result, tissue culture plants have many visible benefits

• Plants are guaranteed to be disease free

• They have a more fibrous, healthier root system free of any root rot problems

• They exhibit a denser, bushier branching habit

• Plants are characterised by more vigorous growth after transplanting

• They have a higher survival rate and are ready for re-sale in a shorter time

These many advantages can result in significant cost savings for growers due to increased health of the plant, and a decrease in the labour required to yield a marketable product. Agriforest is very passionate about the opportunities that Honeyberries offers growers and encourage you to see initial Honeyberry plant costs as only a fraction of the lifetime revenue potential from fresh or frozen berry sales or Hon eyberry value added products.