An innovative hardening technology for micro propagated banana plantlets for medium size tissue culture industries

Abstract: This study explores the use of polypropylene (PP) bags as an innovative alternative to traditional pro-trays in the hardening process of tissue-cultured banana plants. The goal was to reduce the high mortality rates typically seen during acclimatization and improve the growth parameters such as plant height, leaf number, shoot girth, leaf area, root development, and overall biomass. The study compared the performance of banana plants toughened in polypropylene (PP) bags versus pro-trays during primary acclimatization. The results revealed that PP bags significantly lowered mortality rates from 5-8% to 2-3%, resulting in improved plant survival. The better results are attributable to the innate nature of PP bags to maintain high humidity and micro-environmental conditions, which reduces energy inputs and improves plant acclimatization. In addition to increasing plant life and growth, PP bags were shown to be more cost-effective and environment friendly. About 22.27% of overall cost savings were obtained using poly bags. Their flexibility, endurance, lower shipping cost, and one-step acclimatization make it the material of choice. Overall, this study shows that polypropylene bags are a realistic and preferable option for hardening tissue-cultured banana plants, with considerable advantages in terms of efficiency, cost, and environmental effect. This method has the potential to boost banana production on an industrial scale and might be applied to other tissue-cultured crops as it reduces transportation costs. Further research could look into the scalability and wider applicability of this technique across multiple crops and production environments.