Using tissue-culture technology…NAREI cultivating disease free pineapple plantlets

Jun 18, 2018 News

Pineapple farmers can now access quality disease free planting materials from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). The Institute currently has approximately 1,000 plantlets for distribution thanks to the use of tissue culture technology.
According to Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, the Institute’s Biotechnology and Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory facilitates the in vitro micro-propagation of economically important crops such as plantain, sweet potato, pineapples and cassava for germ plasm conservation and distribution among farmers.
He noted that pineapple is an important income earner crop. In-house records show that 81,914 kilograms of pineapples were exported to the US Virgin Islands, Barbados, Suriname, Canada and Antigua within the first quarter of 2018. Importantly, a significant amount is also consumed locally.
Dr. Homenauth said that the need for quality planting materials was highlighted by farmers, who usually supply exporters. As such, NAREI decided to utilise its tissue culture technology to provide farmers with disease free material year-round. Farmers usually have a slower production rate, having to wait at the end of the crop; also most of the available planting material has disease.
HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Utilising an established protocol, the explants are surfaced-sterilized to remove any bacterial or fungal contaminants before being placed in nutrient culture media either for multiplication or storage in a controlled environment (growth room).
Explants are multiplied every four weeks. Plantlets are then acclimatized in a greenhouse before distribution to farmers. Currently, the local pineapple accessions in germ plasm storage are Montserrat, English pine, sugarloaf, and cow head.

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