IN VITRO ROOTING
The multiplied cultures are rooted in the laboratory on rooting media. Shoot clumps of 10-15 shoots are transferred to liquid media with elevated sucrose concentration and supplemented with root promoting hormones. Fairly good rooting occurs after two weeks of culturing.
PRE-HARDENING
The well rooted plants are removed from the culture vessels, washed thoroughly with running tap water; placed in a bucket full of water and left for one or two hours. Plantlets are individually separated making them single. These plantlets are again washed and kept in a tray with cotton soaked with water or water filled bottles. These are kept 3 to 4 days in high light and high humidity conditions in growth room.
HARDENING
After slight root elongation, plantlets are transferred to small soil filled polythene bags in the green house for hardening. Before transferring the plantlets to poly bags, rooted and laboratory pre-hardened plantlets are given fungicidal treatment to avoid fungal growth in poly bags. Watering of the plantlets is done 3 to 4 times a day and nutrient solution added to meet the requirements of major and micronutrients. After one and a half month, the plantlets from green house are shifted to a shade house for further hardening to avoid field mortality.
GREEN HOUSE