ACCELERATING ACCLIMATION OF IN VITRO PROPAGATED WOODY ORNAMENTALS

Literature pertinent to stock plant influence on in vitro-propagated plants is briefly surveyed, together with anatomical differences which appear to cause problems in such plants. Modifications of the post-in vitro culture environment and their influence on subsequent plant survival and growth are presented. A controlled environment rooting facility (CERF) is described and proposed as an efficient method of overcoming difficulties in acclimation of in vitro propagated ornamentals. Results of microcutting rooting in CERF were similar or superior to those rooted in a high humide case. Tissue propagation, often referred to as in vitro propagation or micropropagation, is rapidly becoming an important tool in the hands of the commercial plant propagator. However, one of the major obstacles to practical application tissue culture methods to plant propagation has been the difficulty, often impossibility, of successful transfer of plantlets from in vitro conditions to a soil medium. In this paper we will examine some of the factors which cause difficulties and measures that have been employed by us and other researchers to overcome it. We are also proposing a practical system which may be implemented by producers of nursery or floral crops in existing greenhouses.