Presenting the state of the art of tissue culture and in vitro propagation of vegetable and tuber crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, fibre and oilseed crops, and grasses, this book complements the previous two volumes on High-Tech and Micropropagation, which concentrated on special techniques (Vol.17) and trees and bushes of commercial value (Vol.18). The specific plants covered here include asparagus, lettuce, horse radish, cucumber, potato, cassava, sweet potato, artichoke, yams, cardamom, fennel, celery, thyme, leek, mentha, turmeric, lavender, agave, yucca, cotton, jute, sunflower, ryegrass, zoysiagrass, and various species of Aconitum, Artemisia, Camelia, Centaurium, Digitalis, Dioscorea, Glehnia, Levisticum, Parthenium, and Pinella. The book is of use to advanced students, teachers and research workers in the field of pharmacy, horticulture, plant breeding and plant biotechnology in general, and also to individuals interested in industrial micropropagation.

Second in the series, High-Tech and Micropropagation, this work covers the micropropagation of trees and fruit-bearing plants, such as poplar, birches, larch, American sweetgum, black locust, Sorbus, sandalwood, Quercus, cedar, Persian walnut, date palm, cocoa, Citrus, olive, apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, Japanese persimmon, grapevine, strawberry, and raspberry. The importance and distribution of conventional propagation and in vitro studies on individual species are discussed. In particular detail, the transfer of in vitro plants to the greenhouse or the field, and the prospects of commercial exploitation are examined. The book will be of use to advanced students, research workers and teachers in horticulture, forestry and plant biotechnology in general, and also to individuals interested in industrial micropropagation.

This volume, fifth in the series High-Tech and Micropropagation, contains 24 chapters arranged in the following three sections: I. Vegetables and Fruits: garlic, Amaranthus, Brassica oleracea, pepper, watermelon, cassava, banana, Myrtus communis, passionfruit, Polymnia sonchifolia, pepino, and spinach. II. Grasses: bamboos, Caustis dioica, Dendrocalamus, Miscanthus x giganteus, sugarcane. III. Trees: Aegle marmelos, Eucalyptus, Fraxinus excelsior, Juglans cinerea, Pinus virginiana, Prosopis, and Ulmus. This book is of use to research workers, advanced students, and teachers in the fields of horticulture, forestry, botany, and plant biotechnology in general, and also to individuals interested in industrial micropropagation.

This volume, fifth in the series High-Tech and Micropropagation, contains 24 chapters arranged in the following three sections: I. Vegetables and Fruits: garlic, Amaranthus, Brassica oleracea, pepper, watermelon, cassava, banana, Myrtus communis, passionfruit, Polymnia sonchifolia, pepino, and spinach. II. Grasses: bamboos, Caustis dioica, Dendrocalamus, Miscanthus x giganteus, sugarcane. III. Trees: Aegle marmelos, Eucalyptus, Fraxinus excelsior, Juglans cinerea, Pinus virginiana, Prosopis, and Ulmus. This book is of use to research workers, advanced students, and teachers in the fields of horticulture, forestry, botany, and plant biotechnology in general, and also to individuals interested in industrial micropropagation.

Presented here is another classic from this series and deals with general aspects of micropropagation of plants for commercial exploitation. It includes chapters on setting up a commercial laboratory, meristem culture, somatic embryogenesis, factors affecting micropropagation, disposable vessels, vitrification, acclimatization, induction of rooting, artificial substrates, cryopreservation and artificial seed. Special emphasis is given on modern approaches and developing technologies such as automation and bioreactors, robots in transplanting, artificial intelligence, information management and computerized greenhouses for en masse commercial production of plants.

There has been tremendous progress in the genetic transformation of agricultural crops, and plants resistant to insects, herbicides,and diseases have been produced, field tested and patented. Transgenic Crops III compiles this information on ornamental, aromatic, medicinal and various other crops. It comprises 26 chapters and is divided into two sections. I. Ornamental, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: Anthurium, Antirrhinum, Artemisia, Begonia, Campanula, carnation, chrysanthemum, Dendrobium, Eustoma, Gentiana, Gerbera, Gladiolus, Hyoscyamus muticus, Hyssopus officinalis, ornamental Ipomoea, Leontopodium alpinum, Nierembergia, Phalaenopsis, Rudbeckia, Tagetes, and Torenia. II. Miscellaneous Plants: Craterostigma plantagineum, Flaveria bidentis, Moricandia Solanum brevidens, and freshwater wetland monocots. The book is of special interest to advanced students, teachers and research workers in the fields of plant breeding, genetics, molecular biology, plant tissue culture and plant biotechnology in general.

Ex situ preservation of germplasm for higher plant species has been accom plished using either seeds or clones, but storage of these under typical condi tions does not provide the extreme longevities that are needed to minimize risk of loss. Costs of maintenance and regeneration of stocks are also high. Systems that provide virtually indefinite storage should supplement existing methods and it is within this context that cryopreservation is presented. The use of low temperature preservation was initially more a concern of medicine and animal breeding, and was expanded to plants in the 1970s. Sur vival after cryogenic exposure has now been demonstrated for diverse plant groups including algae, bryophytes, fungi and higher plants. If survival is com monplace, then the eventual application is a cryopreservation system, whereby cells, tissues and organs are held indefinitely for use, often in the unforeseen future. The increasing interest and capabilities for application could not have occurred at a more opportune time since expanding human populations have placed unprecedented pressures on plant diversity. This book emphasizes cry opreservation of higher plants and was initially driven by the concern for loss of diversity in crops and the recognized need that this diversity would be essential for continued improvement of the many plants used by society for food, health and shelter. The interest in cryopreservation has been expanded by conservationists and their concerns for retaining, as much as possible, the diversity of natural populations. The need for cryopreservation, thus, is well established.