Micro Cloning - The most efficient and space-saving method of plant propagation

Hal Incandenza

Active Member
[The following info is from High Times #422, p.64]

Micro cloning is sort of like regular cloning, but done sterile and on a minature scale in jars. Its quickly becoming the way that most clones are made and genetics are kept, which is why you should read this.

As an example; Almost all the plant at a garden shop are TC

Think limitless numbers of plants that are identical, but without the huge mother rooms and problems that were used to.
The process in a nut-shell, is this: Take small tip cuttings from a mother plant and wash them with soap and water, then alcohol, then diluted bleach water. These cleaned tips are then put in a special gelatiin mix in small jars to grow without roots as a micro bonsai. ''What special gelatin?'' It comes in TC kits: officially, its purified water,standard nutrient salts, vitamins and amino acids, branching hormone, peservative, and gellan gum to make it all gelatinous.
Every five weeks or so, the cultures will grow from one node to approximately five and then are cut apart and put into five new jars. This is called the multiplication stage: repeat until you have your desired amount. When you need clones you siply cut apart as before but use rooting hormone instead of branching hormone and wait two weeks. At that point transfer to standard clone tray with grow medium. now you have a whole tray of rooted clones.

PROS:
*Keep 100 stains under a single t5, and only have to rejar every 5-8 weeks.
*no more watering.
*Genetic drift is eliminated, Even damaged genetics can be brought back to their origanal vigor.
*Less watage for mothers.
*Bugs and mold are no longer.
*There is no other practical way to provide high numbers of clones that are all short with a high node count and at the same stage of growth.

CONS:
*You have to plan 5 weeks ahead, versus 2 for traditional cloning.
*Theres a 10 week initial lead time to deal with.
*If you have a aversion to being clean you may have some problems.

You can buy kits for this.

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Here are some TC kits I found:
1. http://www.led-grow-master.com/PlantTissue.html
2. http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=PRAPTCCK
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Micro Propagation Video

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Does anyone here use this method?
 

dray86man

Active Member
Interesting, thanks for posting. For those looking to keep a large number of strains this looks great, but at over 200 bucks a pop for a tissue culture kit I'm sticking to the old fashioned method. Major growers would appreciate this system, but beware before diving in.

This system calls for a person skilled in plant tissue culture and aseptic microbiology techniques. It's not for the average grower. If you're not extremely careful, you'll just get a bunch of mold on your culture media.

For the laboratory or professional growers only, but a fascinating system.
 

OGEvilgenius

Well-Known Member
What you're talking about is called Tissue Culture. And there is plenty of literature about it. Agar is the proper medium and you play with the nutrient and hormone balance inside to turn a small cluster of cells (say leaf) into an entire plant. Every plant cell is capable of becoming an entire plant.

You really don't need a kit, just proper knowledge. Most of the material used can be purchased in any metropolis and if not - that's what the internet is for besides porn.

I still have never seen evidence that genetic "drift" is a real thing.

Would love to see some though.

Certainly clones can lose vigor over their lifecycle.

Are you saying this will restore vigor? It's possible as it might reset the plants internal clocks with the hormone exposure.
 

Brandawg92

Active Member
Genetic drift is a word REAL scientists use to describe weak genes being able to pass on beacause nothing is killing a species...(us)

Mutation would be the key problem in mother to clone genetic disintegration
 

ltecato

Well-Known Member
I tried micropropagating a coffee plant last year. There is a website that gives directions for a do-it-yourself operation that most people are smart enough to work, if they do a lot of learning before they start. I really suck at micropropagating, but still at least I had a bunch of cultures that didn't get contaminated. And I was able to get callus tissue to form on chopped up pieces of leaves in a test tube. I finally gave up because I just don't have room in my apartment to do it well. But it would totally kick ass if I could get access to a lab where I could sterilize all my media and tools and work in a setting with a vent hood. Sigh.
 

dolamic

Well-Known Member
I tried micropropagating a coffee plant last year. There is a website that gives directions for a do-it-yourself operation that most people are smart enough to work, if they do a lot of learning before they start. I really suck at micropropagating, but still at least I had a bunch of cultures that didn't get contaminated. And I was able to get callus tissue to form on chopped up pieces of leaves in a test tube. I finally gave up because I just don't have room in my apartment to do it well. But it would totally kick ass if I could get access to a lab where I could sterilize all my media and tools and work in a setting with a vent hood. Sigh.
Sheldon? ? ?
 

dolamic

Well-Known Member
Maybe it was your avatar, but it sounded like something he would say. "But it would totally kick ass if I could get access to a lab where I could sterilize all my media and tools and work in a setting with a vent hood. Sigh."
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
I tried micropropagating a coffee plant last year. There is a website that gives directions for a do-it-yourself operation that most people are smart enough to work, if they do a lot of learning before they start. I really suck at micropropagating, but still at least I had a bunch of cultures that didn't get contaminated. And I was able to get callus tissue to form on chopped up pieces of leaves in a test tube. I finally gave up because I just don't have room in my apartment to do it well. But it would totally kick ass if I could get access to a lab where I could sterilize all my media and tools and work in a setting with a vent hood. Sigh.
yeah that shit is space and time consumming i tried to get into it but it takes a little bit of dough to get it all right, its not like mushrooms where you can buy it as you go, you pretty much have to have everything and have it all ready too. lots of jars and without the flow head contamination makes it way less efficient.
 

ltecato

Well-Known Member
Maybe it was your avatar, but it sounded like something he would say. "But it would totally kick ass if I could get access to a lab where I could sterilize all my media and tools and work in a setting with a vent hood. Sigh."
Man, that is disturbing because I grew up in Texas and now I'm in L.A. And now signs of advanced dorkiness...
 
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