Plant Tissue Culture, a modern biotechnological method for large scale propagation of plants, is revolutionizing Indian agriculture sector and helps in biodiversity conservation. The importance of this innovative approach was highlighted during Hands on training session on "Plant Tissue Culture Techniques," held at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore from May 27 to 30, 2025. Organized by the Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the event brought together scientists, academicians, and trainees from all over India, including Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi and Tamil Nadu to explore the vast potential of this technology.
The session began with a warm welcome address by Dr. E. Kokiladevi, Professor and Head, Department of Plant Biotechnology. In her remarks, she emphasized the scope of the plant tissue culture industry and highlighted the transformative role of tissue culture in addressing global food security for sustainable crop production. Dr. N. Senthil, Director of the Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, in his inaugural address presented an overview of the training programme, emphasizing the key applications of plant tissue culture in agriculture and industries and highlighted the shortage of trained manpower amidst the huge demands of the tissue culture plants in Indian Market for various crops.
A special address by Dr. R. Ravikesavan, Director of the Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, underscored the essentiality of interdisciplinary collaborations among the people for advancing agricultural research and has reminisced the contributions of this centre in the field of plant tissue culture for past three decades.
Over 26 participants were introduced to the hands-on techniques aimed at propagating high-yielding, disease-free crops in agriculture, horticulture and forest tree species. India’s tissue culture industry is growing ever since the success of the tissue-cultured banana plants has reached the fields of farmers and valued for its quality and uniformity. The tissue culture market is growing at a rapid scale every year and has been extended to several other cash crops reflecting the major role played by tissue culture in the modern agriculture.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Dr. S. Rajesh, Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Biotechnology, who acknowledged the involvement of the speakers and participants. The session exposes the participants to hands on experience of the modern plant tissue culture techniques in several crops and would continue to inspire the trainees to replicate the success of these techniques for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices for ensuring food security and a greener and better tomorrow.