Tissue Culture is the latest technology being applied in agriculture sector of developed countries but unfortunately less attention has been given to Tissue Culture in Pakistan. Hafiz Group of Companies (HGC) took initiative and established a Tissue Culture Lab in year 2006 for obtaining maximum benefits through this technology.

Tissue culture is a method of growing exact copies of plants without the help of seeds. Under the right conditions, an entire plant can be regenerated from a single cell. Further, the primary advantages of tissue culture are rapid production of high quality, disease-free and uniform planting material in a short period. While growing plants with seeds, there is always a high risk of the offspring having disease. However, in plant tissue culture, a healthy part of a plant is taken off and multiplied under a controlled environment. This can be done anywhere, irrespective of the season and weather and on a year-round basis.

Conservation of plant germplasm of vegetatively propagated species also requires tissue culture technology as these plants cannot be conserved using conventional low temperature storage in the gene banks. Plant tissue culture offers certain advantages over traditional methods of conservation and propagation of plant species. It is used in production of disease free planting material of uniform quality. Tissue Culture Laboratory established by HGC is known to be the pioneer private tissue culture facility in the country with emphasis on development of skills and transfer of technologies to growers.

The process of plant tissue culture includes many steps: stock plant care, explant selection and sterilization, media manipulation to obtain proliferation, rooting, acclimation and growing of different lines. Micropropagation encompasses a range of tissue culture methods for propagation of plant species. In essence, tissue from a plant (explant) is isolated to create a sterile culture of that species in-vitro.

Once a culture is stabilized and growing well in-vitro, multiplication of the tissue and the regeneration of entire plants can be carried out. Shoots (tips, nodes, or internodes) and leaf pieces are commonly used but culture can be regenerated from many tissues. Juvenile tissue generally respond best. Currently, the lab is working on the propagation of more than 4 varieties of potatos such as Lady Rozita and Astrex. F1 seed is being produced through this technology.

Our Tissue Culture Lab is also a Member of International Plant Propagators’ Society (IPPS). The IPPS is an international association of plant production professionals. The Society provides a forum for sharing plant production knowledge with the aim to improve the professionalism, knowledge and skills of its members.