Banana and strawberry seedling production advances in São Paulo

Fruit production in the state of São Paulo is constantly growing, and with this comes the need and opportunity to leverage and expand cultivation technology. This is the goal of the Micropropagation Laboratory Service of the Comprehensive Technical Assistance Directorate (Cati), based in Tietê, which has just resumed banana seedling cultivation, reinforcing its role as a partner to rural producers.

The varieties used include Grande Naine, Prata-Anã, and Maçã, chosen to meet high demand and market scarcity. To achieve this, the space was adapted to maintain healthy parent stock and equipped with a modern bioreactor system, allowing for the production of more seedlings with less effort.

"The Tietê Micropropagation Laboratory has produced banana seedlings in the past. Now we're returning to banana production. We've repurposed the greenhouse to house the mother plants, indexed the mother plants for viruses, and are beginning in vitro production. We've acquired a prototype bioreactor installation for producing seedlings in liquid medium, which will allow for higher production with less labor. With these new developments, we'll be able to produce up to 120 seedlings per year," said Laura Becker, head of the laboratory's services.

In addition to the new banana product, the laboratory maintains a strong presence in strawberry seedling production, a business initiated in 2008 following a request from the Strawberry and Fruit and Vegetable Producers Association of Atibaia, Jarinu, and the surrounding region. The goal is to supply strawberry seedlings with high genetic and phytosanitary quality, in cultivars suited to the region's microclimate, and in quantities needed to meet the needs of nurserymen and rural producers.

"For this to work at the right time, the meristems must be extracted between October and December, so we can multiply these seedlings recovered from the meristems, root them, and acclimate them until September of the following year, when they arrive at the nursery to be multiplied again. In March, the seedlings from the nursery's mother plants are sent to the strawberry grower, where they will flower and produce fruit from June to December of that same year," Laura explained.

Since then, the laboratory's work producing mother plants has been highly successful. According to the researcher, each strawberry mother plant produced by the laboratory can generate, on average, more than 250 other seedlings. This year, the laboratory produced approximately 15 seedlings, which developed into approximately 4 million strawberry seedlings. Furthermore, laboratory cultivation offers nursery farmers ecological, financial, and environmental benefits.

Jundiaí nurseryman Denis Mingoti feels the difference in quality. A partner at the laboratory, he manages the acclimatization of the mother plants and decided to resume working with strawberries after 15 years. 

"Cati seedlings are a benchmark in the in vitro seedling market, with excellent quality and health. The main differentiator is the health of the plants. Because they are grown in a laboratory, in a controlled and sterile environment, we have greater confidence in the material," said Denis.