Perhaps you also wonder from time to time what exactly the people at Lubera Edibles do every day. Do they do anything with in vitro propagation? But do they also sow seeds, take cuttings and wood cuttings? The short answer is yes, but...
In vitro propagation is still the main tool for propagating high-quality young plants. Why and what exactly we do will be explained below.
Background
For a young plant company, this is daily work. Cutting cuttings, planting cuttings, sowing seeds. Many young plant companies have been emigrating with their mother plant cultures for many years in order to benefit from the advantages of a constant climate and low labour costs in faraway countries, such as Kenya. These cuttings, whether rooted or unrooted, are then packed tightly and flown to the customer.
As a niche provider, Lubera Edibles chose a different path more than 35 years ago and introduced in vitro propagation as a speciality, so to speak high-tech in the country. The processes have been optimised and capacities expanded. We have also partially emigrated with our in vitro production, but to another European country, to Hungary. The mentality, accessibility and know-how were among the reasons for this. Today, more than 10 million plants are produced in vitro.
The mother plant
Every type of propagation needs starting material, and in vitro propagation is no different. For all plants propagated at Lubera Edilbes, we keep a limited basic quantity of pomologically tested starting plants in our Lubera Edibles variety garden. Plants from the current assortment are cultivated here, but also plants from the pipeline. In addition to all the pomological properties of fruit-bearing plants, propagation characteristics are an important criterion for or against a new variety. After all, this has a direct impact on the availability and also the price of the young plants of edible plants at Lubera Edibles.
Of course, we regularly have all mother plants tested for relevant diseases. These tests are usually outsourced to competent partners.
Picture: Variety garden in Strullendorf
Shoots, roots or seeds are used as starting material for in vitro propagation and must be available annually in sufficient quantity and quality. The main focus for the establishment is in the spring.
In order to establish plant parts in vitro, they must be sterilised. Here, too, plant-specific differences must be taken into account, as must the seasonal development of the plant material.
Picture: Sterilisation of propagating material – here using rhubarb as an example
Propagation
Once established, the propagation of the explants used begins. Contrary to the name ‘meristem propagation’, these do not necessarily always have to be meristems.
In addition to the formation of adventitious shoots, we also use classical nodal propagation in vitro. The culture media used are homemade recipes, and the development of culture- and sometimes variety-specific protocols is part of the development process. The aim of propagation is always to produce a rootable microcuttings, i.e. a small cutting that, except for its size, is no different from a conventionally cut cutting.
Picture: Propagation of blackberries – the individual shoots are easy to see.
Scalability is a crucial point in the development of these propagation protocols. The aim is to be able to produce 100–1,000–10,000–100,000 young plants of edible plants, which is an ever-changing and exciting task for the development team.
Developments towards AI-based machines that will be able to carry out the previously largely manual steps autonomously promise an exciting future here.
Rooting
The final step in the in vitro propagation process is rooting. The gold standard of rooting in agar has now been largely replaced by in vitro plugs. In horticultural terms, small cuttings are inserted into soil plugs.
Pictures: In-vitro plugs from raspberries – still sealed for rooting.
Pictures: In Vitro Plug of Raspberries - fully rooted and ready for the next processing step
Technology has already found its way into this process. Most plant species can already be processed by machine using commercially available plugging robots.
Picture: ISO plug-in robot in action - plugging rhubarb in vitro cuttings
In the future, more and more plant species will probably be planted directly in end trays; we are also conducting trials on this.
Picture: blackberry propagation trial – in vitro cuttings directly planted in a 180-tray
Why all the effort?
Our customers, all plant producers, measure our work by the deadline, quantity and, of course, the quality of edible young plants.
To achieve these goals, reproducible processes are needed that deliver consistent results 24/7/365 if possible. Since in vitro propagation takes place under climate-controlled room conditions, light, temperature and thus plant development can be controlled independently of the prevailing external conditions. The propagation process is thus under control.
The consumer is more interested in the result, namely the harvest. This is where we see our great responsibility. Our colleagues at Lubera breed and develop many new varieties and plant species for home gardens. Home gardens should be more resistant, easier to care for, more tasteful and more diverse in the future. Only when end customers look forward to their fruit, berry and vegetable gardens every day is our work successful and our common market sustainable.
The future is edible with Lubera.
