PROSPECTS AND CONSTRAINTS OF PLANT TISSUE CULTURE IN CROP IMPROVEMENT
INTRODUCTION:
Tissue culture is now very common in modern and developing world. Nowadays people use this method commercially for plants as well as animals. In humans, the application is limited to regenerate vital organs like liver, kidney etc. First of all, we should look at its definition and some basics, after that we will be able to understand its importance in better way. The tissue culture technology now used world wide to produce healthy plants. The tissue culture have some major processes which make them superior from other plants. The young plant growth in controlled conditions and then transfer to green houses for further growth and development. The cost of plant production through tissue culture is more as compared to other method of production.
DEFINITION:
Plant tissue culture is simply defined as development of a full plant from an explant under aseptic environment in nutritive media.
BASICS:
- Pant propagation technique.
- Aseptic indoor environment.
- Nutritive media.
IMPORTANCE
Following points should elaborate the importance.
PROSPECTS:
Following are the major prospects written below:
- Plant propagation in small space.
- Aseptic environment leading to better growth under contaimination free environment
- Callusing can be more easier and can induce de-differentiation under certain hormonal effects.
- Soil less culture.
- Different types of media used with different concentrations.
- All the progeny will uniformly grow.
- Planting material is less as compared to traditional propagation techniques.
- Planting material can be any part of the plant technically known as explant.
- Soma-clonal variation can be induced under certain circumstances which is not possible in other techniques.
- There is no need of hybrid seed anymore.
- It is used to conserve gene-pool and germplasm.
- Plants are free from external environment and bacteria.
- Plants are more viable and have a better chance to survive contrary to other methods.
- Media is sterilized and posses all necessary growth elements.
- There is no chance of competition for space or allelopathic effect.
- There is no restriction of productive cycle, as the environment is controlled and can produce year round.
- We can separately check the efficacy of each and every vital growing element required by plant in media.
- We can also make analysis of root growing pattern which is not possible in soil culture.
- The analysis of soil contaiminents can be done.
- Fungal and bacterial symbiotic relation can be checked by providing required environment and media micro-organisms.
- Plant as a whole or a part of a plant can be produced from an explant while we can only produce plant under other methods.
- An explant can be analysed for its phenols and other residual components.
- There is less area and very much production than any other propagation method.
- There is apparently no loss of potential plant from an explant and productiveness is nearly 100%.
- Huge turnover of profit.
CONSTRAINTS:
Following are some constraints mentioned below:
- First of all, it requires a huge sum of investment.
- Secondly the labor working in the laboratory should be of high technical knowledge which is very less available in over country.
- There should be an adequate power supply needed all the for the running of laboratory equipment which is much needed for running lab operations.
- There is sometimes an effect of oxidants like phenols which reduces the medium efficacy and plant become weaker and die.
- Many a times contamination is present due to some inexperienced staff.
- Plant produce under lab conditions are viable but not vigorously growing.
- Plants are long, thin as compared to sturdy, short statured plants of field.
- There are issues regarding acclimatization of plants in field from controlled conditions in lab.
- Malformation can occur in case if the plant is placed for a long time in test tube media i.e. root knot.
- In liquid media agar and filter paper is needed to support plant which is not the case in semi-solid or solid media.
- The media elements required are rare and not easily available.
- Great care and safety is needed for preparing stock solution to be used in media preparation.
- There are concerns regarding the health safety and precautions taken by worker while running lab operations.
The care should be taken in every lab operation like dipping of pH meter rod in solution and preventing contamination from technical as well as perspective. The main failure in tissue culture is contamination. The purpose of tissue culture is to create disease free plants, so plants grows outstandingly.the tissue culture has some major protocols which make them plant healthy.
Written by. Shahroz Khan
