A planned initiative from a small-scale entity could help establish a large-scale unit in manufacturing of plant tissue culture
If you want to produce plants when a conducive climatic condition is not available, what would you do? Which process will help you if you want to genetically modify the productive properties of a plant?
Do you deem it possible to produce plants that are free from viruses and infection? The answers to all these questions lie in a technique called plant tissue culture (PTC). It is also known as micropropagation when it is used for propagating crop plants.While we talked about this technique with technical experts and companies involved in this business, we found out that PTC has good prospects for business of various crops, apart from specific and patented breeds of different plants.
What is plant tissue culture (PTC)?
Put in a simple term, plant tissue culture is a technique that helps regenerating a whole plant from a small tissue or a cell. This is achieved in a suitable culture medium under controlled environmental conditions. The outstanding advantage of PTC is that a plant can be developed from any part of the mother plant. However, when it comes to micropropagation for crops, meristematic tissue such as shoot tip is considered to be ideal. There are various plants and crops that can be propagated through PTC, but they often require different culture mediums and also different environmental conditions.
Nowadays, PTC is used on various types of fruits, flowers, medicinal plants and even trees. Here are some examples:
Fruits: Banana, pineapple, strawberry
Cash crops: Sugarcane, potato
Spices: Turmeric, ginger, vanilla, large cardamom, small cardamom
Medicinal plants: Aloe vera, geranium, stevia, patchouli, neem
Woody plants (trees): Teak, bamboo, eucalyptus, populus
| Benefits of PTC |
| Rapid multiplication of plants |
| Limited requirement of mother plants |
| Uniformity of properties among the planting material |
| Disease-free planting material |
| Increased productivity |
| Non-dependence on environmental conditions |
Business model
M. Thomas Jacob, President and CEO of LJ International, mentioned that a company involved in PTC can work on two fronts of business.
The first one includes catering to individual breeders who want their patented or particular species propagated. Many individual breeders from foreign countries provide the mother plant or the specimen to the companies and the copmanies propagate it. The mother plant or specimen is patented in the name of the individual breeders and it can’t be used by the company to sell to other customers. In case of LJ International, the company exports 90 percent of its production to customers in different countries.
On the second front, the companies will be asked to produce the mother plant also and then propagate it. In this scenario, the specie of the plant might not be patented by the individual breeders.
Apart from this, the companies can modify the properties of a specie that is not patented and launch the new specie in the market. The customers for this model could be plant breeders in foreign lands, agricultural departments and even farmers.
Market scenario
Dr. Shiv Kant Shukla, Dy. Manager, Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) mentioned that India has a production capacity of 300 million plants per annum, of which around 70 percent is actually produced. According to Shukla, by conservative measures, the market size is estimated to be more than Rs 200 crore with an annual growth of 20 percent.
Indian laboratories and companies currently cater mostly to international markets. However, with increasing awareness about the advantages of tissue culture raised plants, such as improvement in yield and quality; there is a noticeable increase in the domestic consumption as well. The major domestic consumers of tissue culture raised plants include the State Agriculture Department, agri-export zones (AEZs), Spice Board, the sugar industry and private farmers. Apart from this, the paper industry, medicinal plant industry and state forest departments also constitute this market.
Establishing a a commercial unit
It is desirable to have a unit located in a moderated climate condition, because PTC is done under controlled climatic conditions, and extremity of environment adds to maintenance costs. An uninterrupted supply of water and power is also desirable.
In terms of space and infrastructure, there are some areas that are indispensable in a unit:
- The most important work area is the inoculation room where the core activity takes place. It needs to be as clean as possible with minimal air disturbance.
- After this, the growth room or the culture room is an equally important area where plant cultures are maintained under controlled environmental conditions to achieve optimal growth. As there would be varieties of plants that would require different culture conditions, it is often advisable that there are more than one growth rooms.
- Then comes the washing and media preparation room where the culture would be prepared. The glassware washing area should be located near the sterilization room. Minimum number of doors and windows should be provided in this room.
- A separate area for the storage of chemicals, apparatus and equipments is also important for a manufacturing unit.
Financial considerations
The major challenge in starting a new PTC unit is the capital. The cost of establishing a commercial PTC unit is largely dependent on the production capacity of plants that the company intends to produce. For instance, a unit producing eight to ten million plants a year will ask for a capital of around Rs 5 crore.
For entrepreneurs who want to start on a smaller scale, setting up a hardening unit for secondary hardening process is a good option. Procurement of primary hardened tissue culture plantlets from established micropropagation units and undertaking secondary hardening would be an option that new entrepreneurs can adopt. As the business grows, they can increase their functions and establish a full-fledged micropropagation unit. According to a report prepared by BCIL, a secondary hardening unit with a capacity of three lakh plants per annum would have finance requirements of Rs10 to 20 lakh for fixed assets and Rs16 to 20 lakh for recurring costs per annum.
M. Thomas Jacob, President and CEO , LJ International
What services does your company provide for tissue culture? What are your target markets, both domestic and international? What is the scope of business in plant tissue culture for Indian companies? |
At the same time, a good number of state and central financial assistance schemes are offered to encourage entrepreneurs in taking up this business. Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), National Horticulture Board (NHB), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) are bodies that provide central financial assistance. Apart from this, individual states and financial institutes also offer schemes.
Need for certification
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India has established a National Certification System for Tissue Culture Raised Plants (NCSTCP). This certification ensures that laboratories or manufacturing units are producing quality planting material through virus diagnosis and genetic fidelity testing. This certification also ensures that tissue culture raised plants are free from viruses and other fastidious pathogen and also that the tissue culture raised plants are true to the type.
From a business point of view, this certification ensures that the products and services of a unit have a wider appeal. Government bodies and departments do not use products from a company that has not been certified by NCSPTC system.
For more details about the procedure and guidelines of this certification, check this link: http://bit.ly/3dVFM8.
A bright future
With an estimated market growth of around 20 percent per annum, the future of PTC seems bright. More research and focus on developing technologies for cash-crops, medicinal plants and commercial plants can open the market to wider prospects.
As recommended by BCIL, collaboration and networking closely with research institutes would ensure that the manufacturing units are abreast with new technologies and changing trends.
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written by new in this field, August 16, 2011
written by Ashish kathuria, June 14, 2011
selves as one of the commercial plant tissue culture laboratories in NORTH INDIA (Specifically in Punjab State) can u tell me which kind of PTC should we adopt and what will be the feasibility to work out as a business. and what will be the investment as captal, working capital, running cost. what will be the outcome profit ratio ?
written by mahesh bhagat, June 12, 2011
written by arun kumar.k, June 08, 2011
this arun kumar.k from hyd. im going to recruit technical persons for my commercial level banana (1.5 million production) for that i need some experienced and good skills with production plans and management peoples in commercial lab production any body will have interested please send their cv's r contact to this number 9985849944
written by Rafiq Yusuf, April 25, 2011
I am iterested in buying PTC Teak plantlets of NC21.
Could someone provide contact details of a good lab who can supply the same.
My mbl is 9892677525..email-rajimpexx@rediffmail.com.
Hope to hear from somebody very soon.
Best Regards n Thankyou.
Rafiq Yusuf
written by suvarna.B, April 21, 2011
i completed my Msc biotechnology presently i am working in the field of Animal cell culture & i am interested to become an enterpreneur in ptc field so i need financial support so please kindly inform me about from where i can get financial support & also suggestion for cnstructing a good ptc lab
written by vijay kolekar, March 21, 2011
Assistance is to the tune of 50% of the project cost which is estimated as Rs. 100.00 Lakh .
The project should be credit linked & the assistance is in the form of Back ended subsidy.
For more details you may contact Maharashtra State Horticulture & Medicinal Plant Board, Pune
email: mshmpb_pune@rediffmail.com.
One may visit website : www.nhm.nic.in for horticulture related projects.
written by iliyaz.sk, March 15, 2011
written by Kunjabihari Panda, February 04, 2011
I am a MSc biotechnology student and i have undergone an honors program in plant tissue culture so now i am interested to built my career and for that i want to set up a commercial PTC lab. And i got information that DBT provides some Enterprenurship on that so i request you please give me the details about that or else if it can be done through any other means. please consider my request and help me out.
written by subir, February 03, 2011
written by Harish Dhondiyal, January 12, 2011
written by Hemal Patel, November 24, 2010
my self Hemal Patel .i completd my B.E Biotech.now i am working in a biotech company .but i want to make my own bussiness.like plant tissue culture.so i want to help from your side.can you help me to establish a ptc lab or you are intrested to make a palnt in gujrat ?
written by Atul R.Patwardhan, November 21, 2010
written by Illeana, November 10, 2010
Mark Twain
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written by Biplab Shome , August 22, 2010
I m from remote North-East India (Tripura). Advice me if I wish to set up a project related to hardening the plants, propagated by PTC. Is there any market in North-East ?
written by Omar, August 14, 2010
libtata@gmail.com
written by Omar, August 14, 2010
I am planning to have a Tissue Culture Laboratory and specializing in the production of Date Palm Tissue Culture Plants on a commercial scale.
As you might heard, a large part of the North African date trees was effected by the Biyood disease. Thus, the aim of this project is to provide the local market with a share of the palm date that destroyed because of that.
I would be very thankful if you kindly send me information that help me to start my project.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Dr. Osama Geryanii
Tripoli Libya
written by Biju Thomas, August 13, 2010
We supply sealed barrels of IPA(Isopropyl Alcohol) used in Tissue Culture Labs at reasonable price with very good quality. Right now we are supplying to good no of labs on a regular basis in India. This product does not carry any bad smell and that the operators can perform their functions smoothly. If you would like to get a free sample for test and approval please do call on: Metal Connect, Bangalore +91 9886070793, 080 41607661
written by Bala krsihna reddy, July 31, 2010
If any one have the same kind of visionary in long run in this segment of moving ahead of opportunistic future.
You can contact me over my mail: foodit.in@gmail.com
---EARTH IS OUR SWEET HOME LETS PROTECT--
written by ajay shankar, July 25, 2010
written by subhadeep, May 21, 2010
please reply me..
written by air jordan shoes, May 14, 2010
written by Dr.Rajan, May 11, 2010
Mericlone Biotechnologies 11th May, 2010
Bangalore
India.
Sub: Introduction
Dear Sir:
Greetings from India. We wish to take this opportunity to introduce our
selves as one of the commercial plant tissue culture laboratories in
India. It is run by technocrats who are well qualified and experienced
in commercial as well as in R&D in PTC. Our aim is to make an
ineffaceable name in commercial PTC through quality, R&D and
competitive price.
Presently we are sending our products to our clients in east Africa and
in Europe. We will be happy to do contract production or sell our
products to your esteemed organization. We assure you of best quality,
consistent & timely delivery and competitive price. If you have any
requirements kindly contact us, we will be very happy to assist you.
Hoping to get a positive reply from you.
With warm regards,
Dr. Rajan
Mericlone Biotechnologies
Bangalore, India
written by MULNIVASI MUKTI MANCH, May 08, 2010
To be excused for question.
written by DINKAR S. JAYALE, March 17, 2010
sir... pls give me information about .which type of financial help if i constuct plant tissue culture lab
written by Prabuddh Mishra, March 16, 2010
Its a good artical , I would like to share here that at NRDC we have a technology of low cost plant tissue culture medium ,as the chemical cost is the major expenditure in tissue culture .
You can contact :
pmishra@nrdc.in
written by likitha, March 10, 2010
written by Humphrey Saese, March 09, 2010
regards
written by djudjuk triwardani, February 08, 2010
written by Rha,makrishnan bv, February 03, 2010
Pl send the details cost of the plant(mother plant)
Contact Rhamakrishnan bv +91 94905 60333 / +91 93459 31966
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