HISAR, Sept 30: After babies, it is now the turn of plants, flowers and fruits in test-tubes.In a rare scientific feat, the scientists at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCS HAU) have successfully raised full-grown, miniature sunflower plants in test-tubes. The plants were made to flower and fruit by manipulating the level and type of growth regulators in an artificial nutritive medium.J B Chowdhury, vice chancellor of the farm varsity and a cyto-geneticist of repute, said, the feat would ``enable the scientists to raise a number of generations for quick results in breeding programme since the life cycle of the plant could be reduced between 50 to 75 per cent''.He said that the research reveals the possibility of a new approach in improving sunflower cultivation. This is possible after identifying the genes responsible for induction of flowering and the basic mechanism that makes them flower early to evade adverse climatic conditions, including droughts.T M Verghese and Anisha Gupta achieved the breakthrough while investigating the possibility of raising hybrid sunflower plants through the micropropagation technique. They said that although there was no role of roots in test-tubes, plants could be manipulated to produce roots after flowering or flowering could be induced after the production of roots at will by modifying the type and quantity of the growth regulator.Verghese told ENS that the technology employed will benefit fundamental research in plant physiology, bio-technology and breeding of sunflowers.Verghese is also responsible for raising many species of trees of economic importance, potato tuber and corms gladiolus through tissue culture during the last two decades of research . He said that the farming community would benefit from the true hybrid seeds thus developed.The scientists are also busy developing a drought-resistant variety of rice through bio-technology.
