RITA Temporary Immersion System

How the RITA technique works

Stand-by. This is the longest stage. Plants are placed on a polyurethane foam disc. Flooding. This stage is very short and ranges from 1mn/day to 4 times15mn/day, the optimum duration being determined though experimentation. Overpressure of sterile air is applied in the lower container which pushes the liquid medium into the upper container holding the plants. A sterile air flow continuously agitates and oxygenates the medium and renewes the air

inside the vessel. When the air flow is stopped, the pressure in the two parts of the container adjusts and the liquid medium returns to the bottom of the vessel by gravity. The plants remain covered by a film of medium by capillary attraction.

Results achieved with Rita on some tropical crops Improvements in comparison with culture on a semi-solid medium
Coffee Microcuttings : the same multiplication rate in half the time. Embryogenesis : the cost of the procedure from embryogenic cell to germinated embryo is reduced by a factor of 10. Banana Development and germination of somatic embryos : Each Rita can produce 700 to 1000 plantlets ready to harden. Meristem proliferation : the 20-day proliferation rate can be multiplied by 2.5 Rubber tree Potato Development of somatic embryos : 100 to 400 embryos per Rita apparatus ready to germinate on a semi solid medium. Microtuberisation : Production of 3 microtubers from a single node microcutting in 10 weeks. More than 50% of the microtubers weigh more than 0.5g.

Pilot laboratories

Uganda
In Uganda the installation of an industrial laboratory for coffee and banana was financed by the European Union. 2 culture chambers are equipped with RITA i.e. a total of 1600 RITAapparatus. The production capacity is 7 to 8 million plantlets per year.

Costa Rica
A coffee-improvement program for Coffea arabica headed by PROMECAFE, with the

participation of CATIE, was initiated in central America in 1994 and involves 5 central American countries, the Dominican Republic and a group of French development organizations (CIRADS, ORSTOM, MAE). The aim of the program is the development and large-scale distribution, through multiplication by RITA technique, of improved genotypes. Sales of vitroplants are projected for the year 2002.

Publications
D.Alvard, F.Cote, C.Teisson, 1993. Comparison of methods of liquid medium culture for banana micropropagation. Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult.32:55-60 J.V.Escalant, C.Teisson, F.Cote, 1994. Amplified somatic embryogenesis from male flowers of triploid banana and plantain cultivars (Musa sp.). In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. 30:181-186 C.Teisson, D.Alvard, 1994, A new concept of plant in vitro cultivation in liquid medium : temporary immersion. In : VIIIth International Congress of Plant Tissue and Cell Culture (pp S2-2) Abstract M.Berthouly, M.Dufour, D.Alvard, C.Carasco, L.Alemanno, C.Teisson, 1995 Coffe micropropagation in liquid medium using temporary immersion technique, ASIC, Kyoto, VolII: 514-519C. C.Teisson, D.Alvard, M.Berthouly, F.Cote, J.V.Escalant, H.Etienne, 1996, New apparatus for culturing plant tissues by temporary immersion, International Symposium on Plant Production in Closed Ecosystems, Narita, A 1-3 Cabasson, D.Alvard, D.Dambier, P.Ollitrault, C.Teisson, 1997. Improvement of Citrus somatic embryo development by temporary immersion. Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult.0:1-5 H.Etienne, B.Bertrand, F.Anthony, F.Cote, M.Berthouly, 1997, L'embryognse somatique, un outil pour l'amlioration gntique du cafier, ASIC, Nairobi H.Etienne, M.Lartaud, N.Michaux-Ferrire, M.P.Carron, M.Berthouly, C.Teisson, 1997, Improvement of somatic embryogenesis in Hevea Brasiliensis (Mll.Arg) using the temporary immersion technique, In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. 33:81-87 C.Teisson, D.Alvard, 1998, In vitro propagation of potato microtubers in liquid medium using temporary immersion, Conf. Potato seed production by tissue culture, Brussels, Cost 822, European Commission C.Teisson, D.Alvard, M.Lartaud, H.Etienne, M.Berthouly, M.Escalona, J.C.Lorenzo, 1998, Temporary immersion for tissue culture, IXth International Congress of Plant Tissue and Cell Culture, Jerusalem