The tissue culture lab is involved in the commercial scale production of Banana and production of orchids, bamboo and anthuriums for research purpose. This solar powered facility is equipped with multiple inoculation cubicles, dedicated culture rooms and modern plant tissue culture equipment’s. This also functions as a demonstration unit for students and farmers, over 1000 students from various schools and colleges visit the lab every year.
Media preparation room
Media preparation room is equipped with electronic weighing machines, magnetic stirrers, multiple autoclaves (vertical & horizontal), hot air ovens, water distillation unit and other accessory equipment’s. Storage facility including refrigerated storage is available.
Autoclave
An autoclave is used to sterilize surgical equipment, laboratory instruments, pharmaceutical items, and other materials. It can sterilize solids, liquids, hollows, and instruments of various shapes and sizes. Autoclaves vary in size, shape and functionality. A very basic autoclave is like a pressure cooker; both use the power of steam to kill bacteria, spores and germs resistant to boiling water and powerful detergents.
Hot air oven
Hot air oven is a laboratory instrument that uses dry heat to sterilize laboratory equipment and other materials. Sterilization by dry heat is performed by conduction. The temperature is consumed by the surface of the objects, then moves towards the core of the object, coating by coating. Dry heat causes most of the injury by oxidizing particles. The primary cell components are damaged and the organism dies. The temperature is kept for about an hour to eliminate the most ambitious of the resistant spores.
Distillation unit
A method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture is called distillation unit. It's a process that works a little like a still. Instead of removing contaminants from your water, a distiller reverses the equation and removes the water from your contaminants.
Inoculation room
Inoculation rooms have multiple laminar air flow cabinets and accessary facilities. It has uninterrupted power supply which facilitates the continuous works.
Laminar air flow cabinet
A laminar flow cabinet keeps a controlled work surface for applications requiring a sterile work space whereas contaminant access is being prevented by a constant filtered airflow across the surface. Air is drawn through a HEPA filter and blown in a very smooth, laminar flow towards the user. Due to the direction of air flow, the sample is protected from the user but the user is not protected from the sample. The cabinet is usually made of stainless steel with no gaps or joints where spores might collect.
Culture room
Temperature controlled culture room with ample storage space is running on uninterrupted power supply which ensures the safety of the cultures. Multiple storage spaces are available for different plant cultures.
Commercial tissue culture unit
Women formed a Self-Help Group named Harithasree Swasraya Sangham, registered under the Societies Registration Act had signed an MOU with Kerala Agricultural University and producing quality tissue culture banana plantlets from this facility. From 2012 onwards, the scheme is being supported by the PLAN Project on Commercial micropropagation of high demand high value crops as per National Certification System for Tissue Culture Plants (NCSTCP) with a purpose of enhancing the availability of banana plantlets (var. Nendran) and to ensure supply of quality planting materials to the farmers. This is the major lab under public sector for providing disease free quality tissue culture banana plantlets var. Nendran in Northern Kerala with an average production of 5000 plantlets /month.
