paphiopedilum - in vitro germination
- Thread starter Hakone
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SlipperKing
Madd Virologist
Good question. At one time it was a sterility problem (contaimination of the media). Then I believe there is or was an issue with the meristems surviving past a few divisons. Surely there are others here that can fill in the gaps
NYEric
Well-Known Member
None of the researchers who have tried have magic pixie dust!
B
Bolero
Guest
Paphs aren't the only plants with this issue but it's a good question. There is a nursery in Australia who has done this successfully recently with an exhibition Paph but aside from that I think it's very difficult.
As far as I know there are several reasons why it doesn't work properly.
- There are more difficulties to isolate the meristem tissue of Paphs than of other orchids.
- Meristem tissue of Paph doesn't proliferate with the methods that are successful with epiphyts.
Maybe some day the researcher who has the magic pixie dust will appear. Until that day we have to be satisfied with the conventional method of propagation by seed.
Best regards from Germany, rudolf
- There are more difficulties to isolate the meristem tissue of Paphs than of other orchids.
- Meristem tissue of Paph doesn't proliferate with the methods that are successful with epiphyts.
None of the researchers who have tried have magic pixie dust!
Maybe some day the researcher who has the magic pixie dust will appear.
Until that day we have to be satisfied with the conventional method of propagation by seed.Best regards from Germany, rudolf
Leo Schordje
wilted blossom
I have not done it personally, but I have read the protocols available fairly closely. If I have it right, then Rudolf is right, getting clean, bacteria and fungi free meristem is difficult. The proliferation rate is slow.
And another key problem mentioned by the protocols,
- TIME - when you chop up the undifferentiated callus to do your proliferation, it takes a while for the divisions to form into new callus for futher sub-dividing. Months vs the weeks most orchids take.
- AND MORE TIME - it takes a lot of time for new protocorms to develop & differentiate when you finally are done subdividing the callus. Then the time it takes to bring them to blooming size is at least a year or two longer than seed.
So when it is all done, it takes a healthy 10 years or more to bring a batch of Paph meristems into bloom.
As a business decision, if a mature Paph can be divided into 2 every 3 years, at the end of 12 years you will have 16 divisions. With no lab costs incurred.
At the end of 12 years you might have 50 or so clones, with at least 10 times the lab costs normally associated with a single flask of seedlings.
Generally tissue culture of Paphs is viewed by most as not cost effective.
P
paphjoint
Guest
MAy I suggest Seed culture - works great ;-)
