Gastelbondo Manuel* and Nieto-Ramírez Ivonne Jeannettea
Chemistry Department, Science Faculty, National University of Colombia,
Bogotá, Colombia
*Corresponding Author: Gastelbondo Manuel, Chemistry Department, Science Faculty, National University of Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
Received: December 04, 2019; Published: December 31, 2019
The most efficient technique for the massive multiplication of orchids is micropropagation in vitro. Once plants are extracted from their containers they encounter abrupt changes in their environmental conditions, resulting in low survival rates. To avoid high levels of plant mortality an adaptation period called hardening is required. Conventional approaches for the hardening process apply expensive chemical substances such as pesticides and fertilizers that generate toxic residues. Alternative methodologies have explored the use of microorganisms to assist the adaptation phase, this is called bio-hardening. However, there are no reported scientific studies on the use of macro fungi in bio-hardening to the knowledge of the authors.
The aim of this work is to explore the potential of macro fungi as bio-hardening agents of orchids. For this purpose, 5 macromycetes fungi where evaluated by co- culture to assist in the bio-hardening process of asymbiotically raised seedlings of orchids. Two orchid hybrids (Miltoniopsis Kumbia and LC. Irene Finney) and one species (Catasetum tabulare) where evaluated under co-culture treatments and a sterile substrate control during hardening. The results proved an enhanced development and improved survival rates for the co-cultured plantlets in comparison to the control. Survival rates are similar or better in comparison to other conventional and bio-hardening techniques mentioned in scientific studies. This is the first report to the knowledge of the authors of macromycetes used as bio-hardening agents of vitro plants and poses a new sustainable clean alternative for the ornamental plant industry.
Keywords: Bio Hardening; Orchids; Macro Fungi; In vitro; Ex vitro; PGR; Cattleya; Miltoniopsis; Catasetum
Citation: Gastelbondo Manuel and Nieto-Ramírez Ivonne Jeannettea. “Preliminary Evaluation of the Potential of Macromycetes as Mediators in Bio-Hardening of Orchid Plantlets"Acta Scientific Agriculture 4.1 (2020): 141-146.
Copyright: © 2020 Gastelbondo Manuel and Nieto-Ramírez Ivonne Jeannettea. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.