About Školka FOREST

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LABORATORY IN VITRO

The concept of in vitro propagation is used in medicine or biology and related fields for cultivation of organisms under artificial conditions in the test tubes, Petri dishes and similar laboratory ware, but not on living tissues.

Micropropagation (also known as explant propagation) is a standard method of propagation in the forest tree nurseries today. In contrast to the conventional methods of vegetative propagation, the in vitro technology uses only very small parts of the plant (propagula) and/or tissues or organs (or their parts) that cannot be used for classical methods of vegetative propagation. This new method is based on the basic fact that each cell contains complete genetic information of the plant it belongs to. Hence only few cells can be taken from the plant tissue and given appropriate conditions for their growth and differentiation to obtain a complete new organism possessing absolutely identical genomic information as the mother plant.

Advantages of the method

A high coefficient of multiplication – high labour productivity.
Transfer of complete genetic information – salvation and multiplication of endangered or high-quality genotype. The method enables to mass multiply genetically identical progeny (clones) by vegetative way.
Minimum damage to the mother plant (collection of about 20 - 50 buds is sufficient for establishing a clone).
Production of healthy trees (allows to get rid of pathogens).
Easy manipulation in limited space under controlled conditions regardless of the season – a year round production.
Independence on climatic conditions.
Regular growth and identical products – a high uniformity of resulting plants.
Shortening of breeding cycle.
For a number of populations and/or rare and valuable genotypes the method may be last resort salvation.
Possibility to time the production.

Disadvantages of in vitro propagation

A possibility of occurrence somaclonal mutations.
Higher production costs due to higher energy demands.
Demand for well trained and highly qualified personel.
A relatively expensive laboratory and acclimatization green house equipment.

Description of the method - in vitro propagation proceeds in 2 phases

Phase in vitro

This phase begins with selection of a suitable mother plant, from which the winter buds are taken for establishing of in vitro primary cultures based on meristematic tissues. These are gradually multiplied under aseptic conditions in special cultivation vessels during a period called the multiplication phase. Then a phase of rooting follows, that can be done in glass jars (in vitro) or in the soil substrate (in vivo).

Phase in vivo

This phase proceed in a specialized “acclimatization” green house, where the plants get gradually accustomed to outside conditions. It is important to observe a stepwise decrease of relative air humidity and a gradual transfer to the autotrophic sustainment using suitable soil substrates. After this initial acclimation the plants are replanted to bigger pots and transferred to the open air beds, where they reach the market size under natural field conditions.

Propagation of woody plants by the in vitro technique in the Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic several research laboratories are engaged in studies of various aspects of in vitro culturing of forest-tree species. The Department of Biotechnologies of Forest-tree Species, Forestry and Game Management Research Institute in Jíloviště— Strnady, headed by Dr. Jana Malá, Ph.D. has a long research tradition in the field. (www.vulhm.cz). The only enterprise in the CR dealing currently with preparation of nurselings for the forest industry on the commercial basis is our Laboratory in vitro (Školka FOREST s.r.o.,) headed by Ing. Eva Prenerová, Ph.D. (laborator@skolka-forest.cz).

The laboratory was established by the company Jihočeské lesy České Budějovice a.s. (www.jcl.cz) in 1994. The place was technologically equipped in 1995–1996, and the personnel was hired and pilot in vitro production of seedlings started at the same time. Shortly thereafter an acclimatization green-house had to be constructed in order to have facility for the transfer of laboratory reared plants to the open. This technological facility represents a large hothouse equipped with highly sophisticated control of the inner atmosphere, which allows a gradual transfer of plants from 100 % R.H. to the humidity prevailing outside. The construction of this crucial facility was completed in August 1997. Thus a technological unit capable of a large-scale production of in vitro propagated forest tree plants was completed and ready to produce commercially tree seedlings of valuable genome for the return to nature. At the end of 2008 the facility including the laboratory and green-house was bought by our company Školka FOREST s.r.o.. We intend to continue in its operation, develop it and upgrade, and gradually introduce new procedures of in vitro propagation, so that the current assortment (see below) will be enriched by more forest-tree species.

What we can offer

So far the methods of in vitro cultures were used for micropropagation of some of forest-tree species, such as the Quercus robur, Pyrus pyraster, Malus sylvestris, Ulmus glabra, Ulmus carpinifolia, Ulmus laevis, Tilia cordata, Populus tremula, Prunus avium, Sorbus torminalis, Sorbus domestica, Sorbus aucuparia, Rhododendrons and some other woody ornamentals.

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