Return to the Cacti in Oz Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Micropropagation trials
| | |
Posted by ajaykamath VIC Aust (ajayk@mainstreamsoftware.com) on Tue, Oct 14, 03 at 19:06
Hi Guys and Gals,
I read a short artical (on the internet) yesterday on micropropagation of cacti through a method known as "areole activation". What this essentially means is that each areole can (in theory) act as a source for a new plant. In practice however, this is not so as, the juvenile physiology of the plant is lost with age (as does happen to us humans too!!). By using a balance of certain chmicals called Cytokinins and Auxins, the areole's get 're-activated' and start producing offsets. In theory, we could use the areoles of one plant to get as many offsets - and this happens in practive due to the above mentioned chemicals. A good exmaple of a Cytokinin is BAP (Benzene Amine Purine) and for Auxins, a good exmaple if IBA (Indole Butyric Acid). I am trying to acucmulate literature on how to do this at home. I am interested in propagating the following cacti:
(1) Uebelmannia Pectinifera
(2) Epithilantha Micromeris
(3) Turbinicarpus Valdazianus
Keep in touch !!
To Davez104: No funny comments please...
|
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
| Hi again Ajay! I am also extremely interested in this area, but as yet have not tried it. When you say the areole can act as a source for a new plant, is it on its own, or is the areole grafted? What kind of stock would be best for this, Opuntia or Pereskiopsis perhaps? I have found a source of Pereskiopsis which I intend to use for seedling grafting. See the article at www.lapshin.org/cultivar/N12/articl-e.htm regarding this. I have never heard of using these chemicals in this way, but I would love to join you in your quest for information/experience in this area. Jon P.S. Ajay - contact me sometime this summer if you want so we can see each others collections. |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
To answer your question - the areole itself is a source of the plant - it is not grafted. Each indivisual areole , after cleansing in bleach (to kill pathogens and other unwanted culprits), are placed in Agar gel containing the Cytokinins and Auxins. I am yet to find out the exact proportions for a batch - the quest moves on !!
And yes - which part of Vic are you from ? |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
| Ok, I did a little research and now know what you are talking about. How interesting!! I'm from the eastern suburbs (near Ringwood if you know it), where are you from? The chemicals and substrates are available from Aldrich, but they aren't cheap. You're looking at least a few hundred bucks to start. This includes the chemicals you would need, equipment to sterilise, agar plates, measuring equipment such as scales (to 0.01 mg perhaps.) Then a place to do this with controlled light and temperature conditions. This stuff is expensive, and unless you are planning on doing this commercially, it might not be viable. I'm sure hydroponic marijuana growers face a similar problem but they have a high return for their product. Maybe there is a laymans alternative that would be cheap and easy... Jon |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
Aha ! I live in Hoppers, which is the other end of Melbourne, still, I'm sure we could arrange a mututally convenient time. As to the question of cost, there are laymans alternatives that can be used. Various hobyyists suggest an empty fishtank that's closed on the top, but has 2 circular holes on the viewing side (front side) so as to allow for manipulation of the process. For sterilsation, you could use an ordinary pressure cooker (costs about $40). You could use ready made solutions of MS and get pre-mixed calibrated concentrations of Cytokinins like BAP and Auxins like IBA or NAA (Naphthalene Acetic Acid), that way, we only need a measuring beaker instead of an expensive weighing scale. There !! - Hae I cut down costs or what ! Now, I think the costs can be justified by a hobbyist.
Regarding light and heat - a good growing spectrum of light is given off by ordinary tubelights and I've literature where, the auther used a combination of flourescent lighting and incandescent lighting to acheive a good balance of heat and light. Alos, we would need circulation inside the fish tank, to enable uniform distribution of the heat (we're talking about 25 to 27 Deg C). This can be acheived by using a Computer fan placed inside the fish tank. The fan costs about $15 (I have one). |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
| Fantastic! Now you're talking! The fish tank could be fairly easily constructed, not sure how to sterilise that though. Pressure cooker (kmart, op shop). How bout the chemicals? Would they be cheaper at a specialist hydro shop, chemical supplier, etc? Electronic controls hooked up to a thermometer and the the lights would be useful to control the local environment. Fluoros would always be on perhaps a 12-hourly rotation of two. Incandescent lights to control temps. To prevent entry of pathogens to the tank, gloves could be attached to the holes, and then you simply place your hands in them to access the inside (similar to working under inert atmospheres in a lab). |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
Hi, I do have some articles about this subject. I put them on my website. There is a Dutch cactus nursery that uses tissue culture as well.
In my opinion, it will be quite difficult to keep your cultures free of contaminations. First you will have to desinfect your explants. Your explants will be the areoles. These are often hairy, so they'll require a longer sterilisation time. But this will affect the viability of your explant. So you'll have to leave a larger piece of other tissue to your areole.
Then you'll have to work sterile as well. Your tweezers, scalpels, ...
These are usually sterilised with a glass bead sterilizer. And all this is done in a laminar flow cabinet. With HEPA filtered air. Not cheap all these things. You could try it in an aquarium, but I have my doubts about it.
Regards,
Pieter |
Here is a link that might be useful: http://studwww.ugent.be/~pcolpaer/invitro/index.html
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
Hi Pieter,
Thanks for your valuable input, I will have a look at the link you have posted. As far as success rate is concerned, yes, it would not be as successfull as commercial ventures, but, I dont hink I would be interested in high success rates given the capital expenditure. I suppose I will have to keep my fingers crossed all the time while doing micropropagation. After I read the literature you have posted and if I have any queries, I will pot them on this website for you to help me. Cheers ! |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
Hi,
You already tried the setup? Do they grow?
Pieter |
RE: Micropropagation trials
| | |
|
|
|
|
