A seed germinator is Tissue/Cell Culture equipment. Using Seed Germinators, varying atmospheric conditions can be created within the chambers without the need of going outside. Typically, these create an environment in which light, humidity and temperature are controlled to provide optimum conditions for the germination of seeds. They are made of double walled structure having two chambers, one inner and one outer. The main components of a Seed Germinator include;
- A germinating cylinder
- A temperate controller
Seed Germinators are designed in such a way that they are able to control the crucial environmental parameters.
Tissue/cell culture is a biological method of asexual propagation where a very small piece of tissue (shoot apex, leaf section, or even an individual cell) is excised (which is known as Explants) and placed in sterile /aseptic culture in a test tube/petri dish/tissue culture container containing a special culture media.
A tissue/cell culture is used for rapid multiplication of an organism. A very specialized laboratory with sterile/aseptic conditions is required for tissue culture. All the procedure involved in tissue culture should be carried out in a aseptic conditions.
Steps involved in Tissue/cell Culture are
- Explants ; excision of the plant parts.Place the explants in a tissue culture container/test tubes/petri dishes.
- Multiplication ; Tissue grows and produce small plants.(Rapid multiplication by transfer of fresh culture).
- Transplanting the plant into some kind of acclimation container.
Tissue culture methods are applied for obtaining the top seed germination rates and asexual propagation. In case of Plant tissue culture, the seed germination in vitro is one of the important steps, that requires optimal and controlled environmental conditions, and these conditions are provided by the Seed germinators.
Seed germinators have their applications in the following areas too;
- Forestry research
- Seed testing
- Biological products
- Plant tissue cultute
