Using Inorganic Substance as Nutrient Supplement in the In Vitro Culture of Dendrobium (UH 800) Proven Effective

The demand for prolific and decorative flowers in the market is continuously increasing.  One of the most in demand kind of flowers in the market today are orchids like the dendrobium UH 800 variety for its attractive and abundant flowers.  But the natural production of this variety takes several years which could affect the flower business.  Due to this, several researches were conducted to improve the production rate of dendrobium.

Today, orchid laboratories in the Philippines use standard formulation for the embryo culture of dendrobium which takes one year to produce plantlets.  Thus, a study was conducted to produce more plantlets shorter than one year by using ovules with inorganic supplements in the culture media.

Prof. Michael T. Ibisate of the Aklan State University, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Environmental Science (ASU-CAFES), and a member of the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP), conducted a study on Inorganic Substance as Nutrient Supplements in the In Vitro Culture of Dendrobium (UH 800) Ovules.  In vitro are Latin terms which means “inside the bottle”, thus it refers to the dendrobium ovules cultured “inside the bottle or any glass container.”

With this in mind, Prof. Ibisate, primarily, has devised a way on how to produce more plantlets for this variety in a shorter period of time.  In the same manner, he was interested on finding means for mass propagation of dendrobium.   According to Prof. Ibisate, “Using cultured plantlets can also produce hybrid, different variety and dwarfs. With cultured plants, you cannot expect regularity because they often produce variation.”

The study involved using Culture Media Combinations consisting of Nutrient Medium of Knudson-C which was composed of inorganic minerals or mineral salts and Organic supplements composed of tomato puree, banana homogenate and coconut water.  The ovules taken from the capsule of UH 800 was sown in the fresh solid media.  There were four (4) solid media used in this study.  The first, labeled as KCO-A was composed of Knudson-C, organic supplements and 19-19-19 of NPK (a complete fertilizer, meaning it contains 19% of nitrogen, 19% of phosphorous, and 19% of potassium).  The second was the KCO-B containing Knudson-C, organic supplements, and 21-0-0 of N (ammonium sulfate).  The third was the KCO-C made up of Knudson-C and organic supplements and the last was the KCA, Knudson-C alone.  

By Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using Least Significant Difference (LSD), the  laboratory experiment showed that ovules of dendrobium sown in medium of Knudson-C added with organic supplements and 19-19-19 of NPK (KCO-A) germinated earlier, almost twenty one (21) days and obtained 96.03% germination at eighty (80) days of culture.  It also gained the tallest plant height (2.40 cm per plantlet), highest fresh biomass (18.05 mg per plantlet), and greatest number of roots developed (7.30 per plantlet).  Among the culture media combinations tested, all the in vitro growth vigor of dendrobium (UH 800) was significantly highest in Knudson-C incorporated with organic and inorganic supplements of 19-19-19 NPK.

Based on this study, it was proven that the use of inorganic substance in the In Vitro cultured dendrobium ovules was effective.  However, some aspects has to be considered, such as the use of ovules for the in vitro culture rather than the usual embryo, the additional supplement provided by organic substance, and the methods used in preparing it.  Although using ovules instead of embryo was more complicated and arduous, since it required human intervention and proper timing for the dendrobium to produce capsule containing ovules, the result of the study was well worth it.

The use of inorganic substance was proven effective not only in producing plantlets in a shorter period of time, but also in producing better plantlets and the possibility of more flowers and varied colors it may produce.         

The wonder of this study is that, it does not only yield a higher number of plantlets in a shorter period of time for mass production, but the growth of the said plantlets can be controlled based on the needs and demand for it.  According to Prof. Ibisate, since the development of the plantlets depends on the cultured media which nourished them, its growth rate can be restricted based on the amount of medium applied to it.

The amazement does not stop there.  With this development, it is possible for mankind not only to preserve this variety, but to cultivate diversity.