Disproportionately high labor and operating costs compared to trailing sales incomes are common to conventional plant micropropagation. Our goal is to demonstrate that microponic culture has the promise of reducing and stabilizing commercial micropropagation costs through improved labor efficiencies, lower operating costs and improved biology. OBJECTIVES: Our objective is to obtain sufficient quantitative data (instantaneous light intensities, cumulative light amounts, temperature ranges, CO2 fluctuations, air exchanges, time/motion units) and qualitative results (GH survivability, biomass, histological, contaminations, etc.) to evaluate the proposed biological and economic advantages of microponic culture over conventional commercial micropropagation. APPROACH: Sterile plant cultures will be clonally multiplied in liquid media within PhytaFilm envelopes on a reciprocating panel under semi-controlled greenhouse conditions. Technicians will manipulate subcultures through an ergonometrically-designed transport system
