The last quarter of the century saw the early commercial application of plant tissue culture in the form of micropropagation technology, promptly hailed as a sunrise industry in India. The potential volume of business has since gone up steeply, at least a few thousand crore rupees annually, as prospects of demand emerging from the agricultural sector have brightened. For an entrepreneur looking for a challenging and aggressive agri-business, commercial micro propagation is a very valid option.

IMPORTANT MILESTONES

Micropropagation has been one of the major thrust areas identified by the government of India in recent years. Two micropropagation technology parks were set up and have been centres of intensive work on several plant species of interest to this country. Supported by the department of biotechnology, these parks have seen several commercial ventures come up. An excellent general awareness has also been created among farmers by the government, on the benefits of this technology. Some reasons why this industry holds much promise for growth in India are:

• High potential demand exists in the developed countries for ornamental plants propagated using this technology. The prohibitive cost of skilled human labour in developed countries also works to India’s advantage.
• For rapid multiplication of elite plant varieties, plant tissue culture has the potential to exploit the maximum capabilities of plants for yields. Reported yield improvements range from 30 per cent to 300 per cent.
• Tissue culture needs to be explored to overcome the declining availability of irrigated and fertile lands and to take on global competition under the new economic order. It can also be used to achieve the maximum possible yield per hectare area, per unit of water used for irrigation.
• Some known limitations of conventional breeding and genetic engineering pertaining to crop improvement in polyploid, vegetatively propagated crops such as sugarcane, banana or potato can be overcome more easily by micropropagation.
• Farmers are, in general, disillusioned with conventional farming and in search of better techniques.

EARLY DEVELOPMENTS

Commercial micropropagation technology entered this country mainly for job-work multiplication of ornamentals demanded by overseas markets. This was done under collaboration agreements with buy-back guarantees from the technology providers. This “first generation technology” relied heavily on a totally artificially controlled environment in growth rooms. Expensive equipment and heavy consumption of energy were required for the high degree of air cleanliness, temperature control and artificial illumination needed for plant growth.

This expenditure was considered absolutely necessary for plants destined for export and the assumption of high unit value of ornamental plants provided the justification. A number of units came up in this fashion. Most such ventures were forced to close down subsequently and the surviving ones are barely breaking even. Exceptions to this rule may exist and they deserve praise for that.

 

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