New ex-vitro acclimation method
I managed to set up a new acclimation method based on hydroculture in liquid substrate.
The method consists of culturing in vitro-rooted plantlets in low trays, in ordinary tap water.
We are still testing this method, we should optimize it for roses and other woody species, especially
fruit trees.
For many species it proved to be very good.
Below there is an attachment with a short description of the method.
Soon I am going to update it with new results.
I am asking for financial and other material and moral support for further experimenting with this
quite new and very cheap and effective acclimation method. I would like to do automation of water replacement
and water supply as well as experiments of packing, transportation and refrigerated storage of acclimated plants.
Soon I will add some of our micropropagation protocols.
Below there are some links on Youtube to some movies showing our technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9o3Ob9kfKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt1butMl9DU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qym1H7yZwRo
Apart from the older methods of hydroculture in trays, we set up a method of direct ex vitro rooting and acclimatization in floating perlite, which consists of culturing
some microcuttings in a thick layer of perlite that floats on the surface of a tub containing water. There is no need for air humidity and moisture is provided passively from below, for weeks on end.
Our first papers regarding these acclimatization methods have already appeared online:
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/48/9/1159.abstract
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/zootehnie/article/view/8492/7641
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/horticulture/article/view/3782
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/horticulture/article/view/3777
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/horticulture/article/view/5738
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/zootehnie/article/view/8492
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/horticulture/article/viewFile/4914/4574
http://journals.usamvcluj.ro/index.php/horticulture/article/viewFile/9732/8590
Below there is an attachment with a short description of the first method (AcclimationInHydroculture.pdf) and some others with pictures of lots of acclimated plants in water. Others are coming soon.
Here there is a movie showing a technique of direct ex-vitro rooting of blackberry shoots from plantlets from the multiplication phase. The technique consists of taking out the plantlets (bushes), cutting off the bases of the bushes so that we obtain bunches of separate shoots and inserting each bunch of shoots into the cells in trays which are then put to float in a basin. Here there is an improvised miniature basin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXQDgWsTg7w
More information about rooting ex-vitro and acclimation in 'float hydroponics' is available here:
I used the same technique for rooting ordinary rose and blackberry cuttings:
https://sites.google.com/site/alexfiraontheweb/some-of-my-cuttings-rooted-in-water