Bahir Dar Plant Tissue Culture Center launches production of diseases free seedlings!

The national and regional agricultural productivity is being severely hindered by unpredictable rainfall, shortage of improved varieties and diseases.

Currently, improved varieties that are diseases resistant and other agricultural technologies are very much important to ensure production and productivity.

For this reason, ORDA Ethiopia establishes a pioneer commercial plant tissue culture center at the regional capital Bahir Dar to benefit millions of farmers and investors working on agriculture.

ORDA Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar Plant Tissue Culture Center has started off mother plant selection, initiation, multiplication, rooting and acclimatization of potato, banana, sugar beet and sugar cane, bamboo (low land), pineapple plants.

In addition, the center conventionally produces grafted avocado seedlings and supplies papaya seedlings for commercial purpose.

The tissue culture is used to produce large amounts of plants in a very short time compared to conventional propagation methods, establish and maintain virus free stock and maintain varieties of plants for research and development.

Currently, the center produces 5 thousand seedlings a day and plans to exceed more as manager of the tissue culture center, Ato Mandefro Tagele states.