Tissue culture for food production

PES covers the period 9/80-3/82 and summarizes an appended evaluation conducted by an outside review team and based on discussions with project, CSU, and AID/W personnel and on visits to project laboratory facilities. The project is ahead of schedule on all phases of research for all crops. Regeneration has been accomplished for some varieties of wheat, oats, rice, and millet. Screening techniques for salt tolerance in wheat and rice have been completed, and procedures are being inititated to address aluminum toxicity and drought tolerance. The identification of indole acetic acid (IAA) as a valuable input for embryonic tissue development - one of the project"s special studies - has contributed significantly to the project"s success. The inclusion of engineering expertise has improved efficiency in use of the mechanical laboratory apparatus (some 100,000 vials of tissue culture samples are handled annually). A wide range of personnel, including staff, students, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting scientists, are contributing to the project and are introducing excellent innovations to the research effort, although the project"s growth has taxed facilities and personnel to the maximum. Publications and international exposure have led to an increasing number of requests for information and technical assistance; this positive aspects of the project should be continued, but care must be taken not to lose sight of the project"s main purpose. Informal linkages already established with international centers should be formalized. It is recommended that the project be extended at least 2 years. Successful development of regeneration technology has led to larger than anticipated volumes of material which must be propagated and tested to ensure the project"s success. Additional growth chambers or a modified growth room are required to propogate several species. A part-time secretary and an additional laboratory technician should be recruited and salary adjustments made for all technicians. Finally, the issue of providing training in tissue culture methodology - requests for which will probably increase rapidly - needs to be addressed soon.