CSUP technique: a low cost sterilization method using sodium hypochlorite to replace the use of expensive equipment in micropropagation

Abstract

The ability of in vitro micropropagtion to produce high quality planting material in large quantities is hindered by their high cost of production. Hence the price of planting material is high, making them unaffordable to growers. However, a larger portion of the capital and running cost of micropropagation can be reduced using CSUP (pronounced as seesap) technique, where sodium hypochlorite is used to sterilize glassware and culture media followed by culturing without using a laminar flow cabinet. This study was undertaken with the objective of evaluating the feasibility of the CSUP technique to replace the sterilization carried out using autoclaves and laminar flow cabinets. Sodium hypochlorite in four concentrations 5, 10, 15 and 20% (v/v) were used to rinse glassware and accessories prior to pouring the appropriate culture medium for anthurium cv ‘Tropical Red’ in vitro shoot multiplication. The culturing of axenic shoots was carried out inside a glass-cage and cultures were placed in the growth room. Autoclaved culture medium and a laminar flow cabinet were used in the case of the control cultures. Results revealed that the percentage of contaminationfree cultures, dry weight increase and the shoot multiplication were not significantly different between the respective treatments and the controls, as well as among treatments of different sodium hypochlorite concentrations. Therefore, the CSUP technique using 5% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite solution can be adopted to replace the use of an autoclave and the laminar flow cabinet in the major micropropagation activity of in vitro multiplication.