Micropropagation of vegetatively propagated crops: Accelerating release of new cultivars and providing an important source of clean planting material

Abstract

Micropropagation is unequalled for the rapid clonal propagation of improved cultivars from several Australian breeding programs. This has been particularly true of the pineapple breeding program, but it has also found an important role in the strawberry breeding program where high-health mother stock is of paramount concern. In the banana and ginger industries, while access to new cultivars has been of importance, micropropagation has been adopted by industry to ensure planting material is free of serious pests and diseases. Bananas can be used as planting material as early as the first generation ex vitro and is responsible for the establishment of laboratories and nurseries specialising in the production of pathogen-tested plants. The ginger industry, on the other hand, has used micropropagated plants as a source of disease and pest-free stock to establish a clean 'seed' scheme based on the production of conventional planting material.