Development of a modular micropropagation system for commercial plant propagation

微繁殖利用植物组织培养在无菌和明确的条件下快速繁殖植物。这种技术每年可繁殖约 10 亿株植物，并构成世界各地清洁植物计划的基础。加拿大目前正在开发一个国家清洁植物系统，该系统将证明各种作物的植物没有病毒/疾病，以限制病虫害的传播并促进国际出口。限制微繁殖使用的主要因素，特别是在发达国家，是该技术对劳动力的高要求，这使得提高效率对于维持/发展该行业至关重要。尽管微繁殖得到了广泛使用，但自几十年前开发以来，基本系统并没有太大变化，并且设计中存在一些长期存在的问题留下来。 Jones 博士的 CFI 资助实验室最近使用 3D 打印设计和生产了一种新颖的模块化微繁殖系统。该容器包含内部通道和基台，可以集成各种插入物/组件来调节内部环境，以解决微繁殖的几个常见问题。开发的模块包括：1）改进的照明，具有更好的均匀性/控制，允许堆叠容器以提高生产效率，2）被动调节二氧化碳和湿度​​水平，以实现最佳植物生长，3）被动液体培养，以促进实际的液体微繁殖，4）液体体外生根​​模块，以减少劳动力并改善植物健康，5）微摇杆系统，使该技术能够以模块化方式使用，以实现逐步扩展。多个模块已完成原型设计，并已提交 2 项临时专利。迄今为止，这些模块已使用 3D 打印生产，但该技术不适合商业规模制造。该项目的目标是在商业环境中评估原型系统，利用他们的反馈来完善模块，并建立商业规模的制造能力。这一关键步骤将使系统从演示原型转变为准备商业化的可行产品。

Micropropagation uses plant tissue culture to rapidly multiply plants in sterile and well-defined conditions.This is used to propagate approximately 1 billion plants per year and forms the basis of clean plant programsaround the world. Canada is currently developing a national clean plant system that will certify plants arevirus/disease free for a variety of crops to limit the spread of pests/disease and facilitate international export.The main factor limiting the use of micropropagation, especially in developed countries, is the high labourrequirements of this technique that make increased efficiency critical to sustain/grow the industry.Despite the widespread use of micropropagation, the basic systems have not changed much since beingdeveloped decades ago and several long-standing problems inherent in the design remain. A novel modularmicropropagation system was recently designed and produced using 3D printing in Dr. Jones' CFI-funded lab.The vessel contains internal channels and abutments that can integrate various inserts/components to regulatethe internal environment to address several common problems with micropropagation. The developed modulesinclude 1) improved lighting with better uniformity/control that allows vessels to be stacked for increasedproduction efficiency, 2) passive regulation of CO2 and humidity levels for optimal plant growth, 3) passiveliquid culture to facilitate practical liquid based micropropagation, 4) a liquid in vitro rooting module to reducelabour and improve plant health, and 5) a micro-rocker system to enable this technology to be used in amodular fashion to enable gradual expansion. Several modules have been prototyped and 2 provisional patentshave been submitted. To date the modules have been produced using 3D printing, but this technique is notsuitable for commercial scale manufacturing. The objectives of this project will be to evaluate the prototypesystem in a commercial setting, use their feedback to refine the modules, and establish commercial scalemanufacturing capacity. This critical step will transition the system from a demonstrated prototype to a viableproduct ready for commercialization.