The initial feedback received from the concerned FDAs suggests mixed performance of the plants in the field. In one of the field trials being carried out at a farmhouse in Chattarpur, New Delhi, 385 tissue-cultured plants (in 3 replicates) were transferred to the field in May, 2003. Within 5 months, the plants had attained an average plant height of more than 9.4 ft and GBH of more than 9.7 cm in all 3 replicates.
· In vitro cultures of two eucalyptus hybrids viz. F- 14 and F-5 obtained from FRI, Dehradun were bulked-up. About 14,400 tissue-cultured plants were produced and supplied. In addition to these hybrids, few other clones were also multiplied. About 34,000 tissue-cultured plants of eucalyptus were dispatched to various growers for planting.
· Bambusa bambos has been identified as a priority species for plantation under the bamboo mission launched by Government of India. Since B. bambos is a thorny species, its demand is rather restricted. Using seeds from a less thorny clump identified by bamboo researchers in natural forests of Karnataka, about 1.1 lakh plants of Bambusa bambos were produced this year. Out of these, 32,000 plants have already been dispatched including 25,000 plants to Forest Department, Haldwani and 2,000 plants to Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi for field demonstrations. Dendrocalamus asper has been introduced into production this year. By July 2005, 20,000 – 30,000 tissue cultured plants will be dispatched to Uttaranchal, North-east, KFRI and other locations for field demonstration and routine plantation
· Large-scale multiplication of vanilla was undertaken during the year and over 4 lakh tissue cultured plants were produced. Out of these, over 2 lakh tissue culture raised plants have been dispatched to TERI’s satellite centre at Guwahati for hardening. These would be supplied to the growers in North-Eastern states through Spices Board, state horticulture departments and other agencies.
· Over 1 lakh tissue cultured plants of Aloe vera were produced. Over 31,000 plants have been dispatched. The remaining plants are at different stages of hardening and will be supplied to farmers and private growers in the next planting season.
· Over 1 lakh tissue cultured plants of Swertia chirayita were produced. These are being hardened and will be sent to Supi, Uttaranchal for secondary hardening.
· Among fruit crops, the emphasis has been on strawberry and banana. Approximately 38,000 tissue cultured plants of two varieties of strawberry namely, ‘Chandler’ and ‘Ophra’ were dispatched. Mass multiplication of banana (variety ‘Sabri’) is in progress. About 5,000 tissue cultured plants of this variety will be supplied to Tripura State Council for Science and Technology, Government of Tripura, Agartala during 2005.
· The rootstocks of apple were introduced into production this year. The virus-free nature of the rootstocks was confirmed through virus-indexing at the National Facility for Virus Diagnosis and Quality Control of Tissue Cultured Plant at IARI, New Delhi. The rooting for two of the rootstocks, MM 106 and M7, has been optimized (80-90%). The plants are being hardened at TERI’s MTP facility.
· Production of tissue cultured plants of imported citrus rootstock varieties has been initiated. Twelve varieties of rootstocks are being multiplied for Punjab Agri-Export Corporation Limited (PAGREXCO).
· Micropropagation protocol for hops has been optimized and a total of 6200 plants of “Lahul bitter” variety have been supplied to a private grower under contractual production.
Research & Development: has been supported for micropropagation protocol standardization and refinement of important species- Walnut, Steviarebaudiana, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and Jatropha curcas
Walnut : Some important Indian and exotic varieties of walnut were identified and germplasm collected from authentic sources. Aseptic cultures using single node segment were initiated. Presently, cultures of several scion varieties and rootstocks are at shoot multiplication stage.
Bambusa tulda (adult) : Shoot multiplication has been achieved; inspite of extensive experimentation, there has not been much success with rooting. Further experiments in this direction are underway
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (adult) : Shoot multiplication by axillary branching method and upto 65% rooting has been achieved. Further experiments to improve the rooting frequency and quality of rooting are in progress.
Jatropha curcas : In an attempt to develop micropropagation protocol for Jatropha, large number of in vitro cultures were initiated. The cultures are at the early stages of shoot multiplication.
Training
The following training programmes and farmer meets have been organized:
· Two farmer meetings and a training programme on seed production technology were organized at Supi farm. These meets and training programmes covered all the aspects of cultivation, and management of diseases and weeds.
· Training programme on plant tissue culture hardening for grass-root level workers was organized at Ramanreti Ashram, Mathura
· Training programmes were also organised on potatocultivation at MTP Gwal Pahari
In addition, several trainees from BCIL and other academic institutions were also imparted training in plant tissue culture. Presently two trainees from Board of Apprenticeship Training for apprenticeship/training of 10 + 2 vocational certificate holders are undergoing training at MTP.
Research and development for improvement:
Extensive R&D work is being carried out for development of micropropagation protocols for identified priority crop species. Success has already been obtained in Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus pellita. Studies are being focussed on Casuarina and Jatropha curcas.
Casuarina equisetifolia : Micropropagation studies were carried out pertaining to culture initiation and establishment, multiplication and in vitro rooting in C. equisetifolia.
Jatropha curcas : Tissue culture micropropagation of high yielding, high oil containing clones has great significance for rapid multiplication of these identified clones.
For the experimental studies, cuttings were collected from Indira Gandhi Agriculture University, Raipur and College of Forestry, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. Cultures were successfully established from the nodal explants collected from the cuttings growing in the greenhouse at NCL. The cultures in multiplication stage are being further tested for their rooting ability in vitro.
Large scale production and demonstration
Demonstration of the performance of tissue cultured plantlets of turmeric, ginger, banana, Chlorophytum and teak is being carried out in the farmers field at Landewadi, Kalewadi, Alephata, Belwadi, Rui, Malegaon near Baramati, Maharashtra and Lonkar Krishi Udyog, Solapur in Maharashtra. About 20 farmers have been involved. Tissue culture raised turmeric plants yielded two times more (300-350g./plant) as compared to conventional plants (150-200g/ plant). At Chaudhary Plantation, Raipur among the clones NC-21, NE, TD of teak tested, clone NC-21 has shown best performance. The data is being collected and monitored for the plants which were planted by the tissue culture pilot plant in 1994. Average height is 15m and average GBH is 50 cm. Thinning of this trial has been done and trees are exhibiting higher growth rate after thinning. The wood poles obtained by thinning have the salable size. The trial is monitored regularly by NCL Scientists and quarterly reports on growth performance are recorded. Wood density analysis of the samples collected from field trial indicate average dry basic density of 671.27 kg/m3 of tissue culture raised plants as against average 620.51 kg/m3 of seed raised control plants. The ecological balance of the area has improved mainly due to the plantations.
Training
Training programme on micropropagation was organized during May 10-21, 2004. In the two week programme first week training was on general laboratory techniques and introduction on cell and tissue culture. In the second week, advanced hands on training on micropropagation of Eucalyptus and Banana from culture initiation to hardening of plants alongwith testing of clonal homogeneity using molecular markers. Training on different aspects of plant tissue culture was also imparted to students from different universities.
