June 2021 - 16

PLANT & SOIL HEALTH
Exploring old technique helps grow healthier plants
By Virginia State University
Researchers at Virginia State
University's (VSU) Agricultural
Research Station (ARS) are studying
tissue culture techniques that can
help nurseries and growers increase
revenue by producing large quantities
of plants in a relatively short period
of time.
Micropropagation is the process of
mass producing genetically identical
offspring from a single parent plant
using tissue culture techniques. The
process has been around since the late
1900s, and its use today is changing
how food is grown, making it easier
to grow high-yielding, clean plant
material.
" This method of plant propagating
involves growing plants, often in
mass, using tissues from a parent
plant (i.e., shoot or root), " said
Toktam Taghavi, a plant scientist with
ARS. " Micropropagation creates a
uniform plant material for different
research purposes. "
Taghavi recently began exploring
tissue culture of turmeric, ginger and
strawberries in a team effort to study
the cell structure and function during
storage. However, the method can
also be used to propagate clean plant
material suitable for mass propagation
by nurseries and growers.
Nurseries, growers or breeders
may have different purposes for
needing micropropagated plants,
but often this method of growing
plants can help ensure not only the
quality of the plants grown or sold
are consistent, but also the produce
from those plants are clean (free
from microorganisms) and have high
quality.
While studying strawberries, grown
over the last two years at VSU's
Randolph Farm, Taghvi noticed that
strawberry plants purchased from
a qualified nursery during the first
Tissue culture techniques aid plant propagation, tissue and cell studies.
Photo: Virginia State University
year of the study grew well. But plants
purchased from the same nursery the
following year were carrying diseases.
In order to further the research, she
decided to micropropagate new clean
plant material. Taghavi took tissue
samples and began growing them in
a sterile environment in her lab to
ensure the specimens are uniform and
clean and to ensure the success of the
Get Your Copy Today!
new plantations.
" We were successful in getting
tissue-cultured plants, " Taghavi said.
" We need to identify microorganisms
that may still be inside the plant tissue
that are not visible to naked eyes. "
The tissue culture project is not
only necessary for her research,
but also a way to train students and
technicians in plant science.
This method of producing plants
from plant tissues is quite common.
" For many plants and vegetables,
there are no seeds, " Taghavi said. " And
often, if you start plants from seed,
there is a genetic variation among
them, so the seedling is not similar to
the parent plant. That's not what you
want. On a farm, you want a uniform
population of plants because if they
are different, the production practices
and quality of the produce you get
will be different. "
Taghavi is conducting the research
Calling all southeast growers! The guide you have trusted for the
latest insights and advice for successfully managing vegetable
crops is now available.
Visit vegetablegrowersnews.com/2021-SE-Handbook
to download your copy today.
16 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
in collaboration with Reza Rafie,
a Virginia Cooperative Extension
horticulture specialist at VSU, who
is an expert on specialty crops, like
ginger and turmeric.
Vegetative propagation is often used
because of a lack of seeds or a lack
of genetically uniform seeds, which
is the reason that many fruits and
vegetables are not produced by seed,
Taghavi added. " Like with humans,
every one of us is different, that's
the same case with plants that come
from the seed. Every one of them is
different. "
Once plants are successfully
propagated through tissue culture
and grown into uniform seedlings,
nurseries and growers can acclimatize
the young plants to outdoor
environments, plant them or sell them
commercially. Humid chambers with
controlled environments are needed
to acclimatize the tissue-cultured
plants to outdoor environments.
During acclimatization, humidity
should decrease and light intensity
should increase gradually to adapt
the in vitro plants to the outdoor
environment.
" Like with humans,
every one of us is
different, that's the
same case with
plants that come
from the seed. "
- Toktam Taghavi,
VSU Agricultural Research Station
Taghavi is also working on a study
to extend the shelf life of strawberries,
and micropropagation is critical to
that research. This technique will
allow her to control what specific
varieties are grown for the study and
ensure the plants are clean with high
quality.
Nurseries, growers and breeders
interested in learning more about
tissue-cultured plants or partnering
with VSU can contact Taghavi at
ttaghavi@vsu.edu. VGN
http://www.vegetablegrowersnews.com/2021-SE-Handbook http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2021
