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Old 01-22-2009, 03:34 AM   #38 (permalink)
Gabe15
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Default Re: Germination the easy way

Quote:
Originally Posted by griphuz View Post
Nice Scot!

So you get 1 plant out of 1 embryo usually, OR you have to invoke shoot/sucker formation in a special medium or something?
Is that more difficult with Ensetes compared to Musas (because Ensete normally doesn't do so as a plant)?
Kind regards,
Remko.
In my trials, depending on the species and how much hormone is in the medium, sometimes they will germinate normally or sometimes they will form many shoots right away. Either way, depending on the level of hormones you put into the medium you can control how much they sucker. I have germinated embryos that could be transferred directly to soil but I prefer to subculture them and create more plants before planting them in soil in case anything happens to them. It's always good to have backups.

I haven't had much experience tissue culturing Ensete (just do to availability), however when I got an E. glaucum embryo to germinate in vitro, it grew very strangely and I could never regenerate any plants from it. I grew some E. ventricosum from meristem tip culture for a short period of time and they seemed to grow normally but I would have to try more to really compare them. The tissue culture process can be made very difficult from the differing habits of different varieties in culture. Some banana varieties are very easy and "behave" well while other varieties are very slow, grow out of control, or grow in strange and hard to deal with patterns.
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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.
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