IMPROVED MULTIPLICATION OF ANTHURIUM USING THE WEVITRO SYSTEM

Abstract

Anthuriums have been one of Hawai'i’s major floriculture crops, popularly sold as cut flower stems or potted plants. Commercial growers and the University of Hawai'i’s anthurium breeding program utilize micropropagation to produce large amounts of planting material. However, due to the naturally slow growth rate of anthuriums, plant multiplication is limited. To address the bottleneck in anthurium micropropagation, the resting interval and the explant (2 node segments from an in vitro shoot) density of the WeVitro Microrocker system were optimized for shoot production. Shoot production was then compared in the WeVitro Microrocker, WeVitro Gravity Well, the RITA® bioreactor, and the conventional flask system, the current method for anthurium micropropagation. A cost analysis was made to provide a decision-making tool for the laboratory operator by identifying the cost per microplant, and the cost of acquiring each system. The labor and materials for media required to produce the microplants were included in the cost analysis.A resting interval of 2-hours with a 5-minute immersion time of explants in 50 mL of liquid media increased secondary shoot production. There were no significant differences in primary shoot production, but secondary shoot production was significantly increased in the Microrocker system (34.0) compared to the conventional flask system (24.6). In optimizing the explant density of the Microrocker system, the multiplication rate of total shoot production was highest in the 16 explant density (3.9) and decreased in the 24 explant density (2.9) and the 32 explant density (2.4). However, total shoot production still increased with explant density since a density of 32 explants (76) yielded more total shoots than 24 explants (70) and 32 explants (61). Visually, microplants from the Microrocker system also appeared more vigorous with greater petiole length and thickness compared to microplants from the conventional flask system. When comparing the bioreactor systems, the RITA® bioreactor generated the greatest total adventitious bud formation volume and number of secondary shoots. There were no significant differences in primary shoot production, but secondary shoot production was increased by 114% in the RITA® bioreactor, 57% in the Microrocker system, and 38% in the Gravity Well compared to the conventional flask system. The cost per microplant, including labor costs, was also the lowest in the RITA® bioreactor (0.18 USD) followed by the WeVitro Microrocker system and Gravity Well (0.20 USD) and the conventional flask system (0.23 USD). For identifying the cost of a 20-vessel system, the most simplistic and affordable system was the Gravity Well (1000 USD) followed by the Microrocker system (2000 USD), conventional flask system (2692 USD), and the RITA® bioreactor (4663 USD). The incorporation of bioreactors such as the RITA® bioreactor, the WeVitro Microrocker, and the WeVitro Gravity Well can increase micropropagation efforts for commercial growers, propagation laboratories, and the University of Hawai'i’s anthurium breeding program, while simultaneously lowering the cost of microplant production. These systems may be vital for streamlining anthurium production in the State of Hawai'i.