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Exploitation of in Vitro Culture
11.
The in vitro culture technique for rapid multiplication of disease- free planting materials of selected clones is a labour-intensive and relatively low cost technique, eminently suitable for use in developing countries. Several developing countries in the Region have been exploiting this technique for micropropagation of orchids, cut flowers, potatoes and other root and tuber crops, and a few clonally propagated fruit and plantation crops and forest species.
12.
China grows in vitro cultured virus-free seedlings of potato in about 250 000 ha (10 percent of the total potato area in that country). This technique has resulted in potato yield increases of up to 150 percent. Besides potato and cut flowers, the country has resorted to commercial exploitation of in vitro clonal propagation technique for sugarcane, grapes, eucalyptus and Chinese fir. Through micropropagation, the country annually produces more than 1 million seedlings of red banana, Hongiang orange, and pineapple. China has also standardized techniques for mass micropropagation of sugarcane seedlings using embryogenic cell lines and a multishoot propagation system. The country has also exploited somatic embryogenesis in triploid root cultures of rubber tree and produced clones which outyielded the diploid standard clones by about 20 percent.
13. The Republic of Korea has been using micropropagation techniques in potato since 1981 and has been able to double its potato yield from 12 t/ha in 1981 to 26 t/ha in 1986. The technique is also used commercially for carnation, lily, strawberry and garlic. India and Pakistan, besides cut flowers and root and tuber crops, have been using in vitro culture technique for micropropagation of date palm and certain other fruit and nut species. In India, somatic embryo-genesis in Brassica spp. and important pulses, viz. chickpea is being used for micropropagation and for selection of lines resistant to stress conditions. In Indonesia, besides oil palm and orchids, micropropagation was being exploited for rattan and selected forest species.
14.
In Malaysia, during the past 10 to 15 years, large areas under oil palm plantations have been planted to in vitro cultured seedlings derived from selected palms. Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are also using vitro- plants for large-scale plantings of oil palm. In India, the Indian Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargod, has developed a fast clonal micropropagation technique for this crop. In collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, the Institute has planned commercial planting of the vitroplants by 1991. In coconut, embryo culture is being used in the Philippines and Thailand for multiplication of soft, macapuna, types. A beginning has been made in using embryo culture for conservation and exchange of genetic resources of coconut in some countries of the Region.
15.
Micropropagation techniques have been developed and are being used in a few countries of the Region for timber species and several multipurpose and nitrogen fixing tree species, viz. Eucalyptus, Leucaena, Casuarina, etc., and hold great promise for community forestry, agroforestry and reforestation. These developments will relieve the pressure on natural forests and obviate the problems of soil erosion and degradation, besides yielding economic products.
16.
Plant cells in culture have the potential to produce useful secondary metabolites efficiently. Herbal medicines are popular in China, India and other Asian countries and are gaining importance in the West. Chinese scientists have been using tissue culture since the late 1970s for
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