Open AccessImproved in vitro rooting in liquid culture using a two piece scaffold system
Author(s) -
Shukla Mukund R.,
Piunno Kevin,
Saxena Praveen K.,
Jones A. Maxwell P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
engineering in life sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.547
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1618-2863
pISSN - 1618-0240
DOI - 10.1002/elsc.201900133
Subject(s) - micropropagation , liquid culture , scaffold , liquid medium , plant tissue culture , biology , agricultural engineering , tissue culture , botany , horticulture , computer science , in vitro , biochemical engineering , process engineering , biomedical engineering , engineering , biochemistry
Abstract Plant tissue culture techniques have been used to propagate horticultural crops at a commercial scale for more than three decades. However, due to the high cost it is generally only used for high value crops. To increase production efficiency and make micropropagation viable for a wider range of species, new approaches to address key steps of the process with high labor inputs need to be evaluated. For this study, a two‐piece scaffold system was designed, prototyped using 3D printing, and tested to physically hold plants upright thereby facilitating liquid based rooting. This system was evaluated with Malus domestica , Betula lenta , and Musa sp. using static liquid culture as well as rocker based temporary immersion system and compared to rooting in semi‐solid based medium as is commonly practiced. Significantly, earlier rooting was observed in all three species in liquid when compared to semi‐solid culture system, and plants cultured in liquid on the rocker generally performed better than those in static liquid. In addition to quicker, more uniform rooting, reducing labor requirements, and preventing root damage. This newly designed system is simple, easy to use, will help to improve efficiency, and reduce the cost of micropropagation.