M Elena Díaz, Andrea N Peña Malavera, Ana M Cerviño Dowling, M Francisca Perera and Aldo S Noguera
Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino (ITANOA), Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC) – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CCT NOA Sur, Av. William Cross 3150, Las Talitas, Tucumán, R. Argentina, T4101XAC; franciscaperera@yahoo.com.ar
The Vitroplants Project of Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC) began in 2001 and supplies high-quality “seed cane” (healthy, vigorous and with guaranteed genetic identity) to the farming sector. This is achieved with several biotechnological tools, including hydrothermotherapy, micropropagation and different molecular techniques. In 2016, the application of the ISO 9001 standard improved the production process by evaluating the effectiveness at each stage to achieve efficient use of human and material resources. The productive efficiency of sugarcane vitroplants during 2023 was analysed using multiplication rates, length at each subculture, percentage of material from each multiplication stage transferred to rooting, and percentages of losses. The average multiplication rate varied between 3.45 and 4.97, with maximum rates of 5 to 10.5 for different varieties. The multiplication rates per subculture per variety ranged between 3.34 and 4.86, with the highest rate in stage M2 and the lowest ones in the most advanced subcultures. In addition, the time in each subculture increased from stage M3. The highest percentage of rooting came from material in stage M7 (the limit allowed to prevent genetic variations); however, to avoid losses, part of material was transferred after stage M4 to rooting medium. Losses were 28%, with the highest percentages were associated with plants in poor condition (50% of total), followed by bacterial contamination. Overall, productive efficiency was determined not only by the quantity of vitroplants produced, but also by their quality and cost, and the indices allowed informed decisions to be taken to correct, improve, or prevent possible risks.