Journal October 23, 2014 - Manzanillo explant in vitro

At times I wonder if the explants in tissue culture are doing anything at all.  One way I use to tell if an explant is making any progress is by using time lapse photography, which is what the above video is about.

The vessel was placed in my video box with the camera set to take a photo every five minutes.  After several days the photos were compiled into video to determine what, if any, progress the explant has made.

This one is unusual, in so far as the "arms" droop, then callus begins to form at the shoulders and then the top.  There is also new growth forming on the callus on the top of the stem.

These may be the last olives I place in culture, as my last batch of conventional cuttings have been a total success.  Six out of six cuttings have rooted, and, they are from six different varieties.  

Tissue culture will be used going forward for starting difficult seeds and for more difficult or exotic plants.

For olives I intend to use the method described in my last post, as I am not looking to produce thousands of plants, just one of each variety, which I have now begun to accomplish.