The Growth Chambers

 

Sterile plantlets are incubated 4-7 months.  They are transferred to new growth media every 3 weeks under the same absolute sterile conditions.  This a crucial time.  A single spore will contaminate the test tube contents killing the plant which happens often.  Plants are always meristemmed in excess to allow for these fatalities.

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Once a plantlet grows to the top of the test tube, it is transferred into small soil pots in another warmed growth chamber until the plants are acclimated to the larger greenhouse environment. These become the mother plants for that year.  An O'Henry variety of sweetpotato plantlet is pictured here just before its transfer to a soil pot.