SUGARCANE VITROPLANT PROJECT OF THE ESTACION EXPERIMENTAL AGROINDUSTRIAL OBISPO COLOMBRES (EEAOC, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA): PRODUCTION OF HEALTHY PLANTLES AT THE LABORATORY

MARÍA ELENA DÍAZ; NORA DEL VALLE PAZ; MARÍA FRANCISCA PERERA; MARÍA PAULA INSAURRALDE ROCCO; ATILIO PEDRO CASTAGNARO; ALDO SERGIO NOGUERA

San Miguel de Tucumán

Congreso; ISSCT CONGRESS 2019. XXX Congreso Internacional de caña de azúcar; 2019

The ?Vitroplants? Project was started by Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres in 2001. Its main goal is to provide sugarcane producers with seed cane of extremely high phytosanitary quality and genetic purity. Since its beginning, improvements in the process such as, molecular techniques for diseases diagnosis and assessment of genetic purity were incorporated. Until 2004 the vitroplants sanitary evaluation for two systemic diseases was carried out by serologic techniques, but since 2005 molecular diagnosis based on PCR were optimized by Biotechnology Section of EEAOC for the five most regionally important systemic diseases of sugarcane. In 2014, the genetic identity analysis of vitroplants realized since 2007 by AFLP, was replaced by TRAP since they were cheaper and revealed similar polymorphism. Recently, a Quality Management System which allowed administrating and increasing the efficiency in each step of the micropropagation process, was implemented. In the 2001-2017 period, 14 commercial varieties and promissory clones of sugarcane were micropropagated reaching a total of 1.094.131 vitroplants. At the moment, around of 70 percent of planted surface in Tucumán is cultivated with high quality sugarcane seeds produced by the ?Vitroplants? Projet, rendering a lower disease incidence and a gradually increase of yields in sugarcane commercial fields. This Project since its beginning has constantly looked for improving the process, to gain in knowledge and to get a sustainable final product able to satisfy sugarcane producer demands.