Aquatic Plants of Florida

APF

Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc., one of Florida’s earliest wholesale native plant farms, launched an initiative in October 2006 to construct a tissue culture lab, focused solely on the propagation and preservation of dwindling native plant species.

The habitat restoration company announced today its completion of a new facility, which includes a fully automated fog house, dedicated for transitioning lab-produced micro cuttings to greenhouse production. Three technicians, who focus on native plant research and propagation, staff the new lab.

The lab includes a preparation area where tissue culture media is prepared. This area houses lab benches, counters, and storage areas for chemicals. The benches are used for equipment such as balances, pH meters, stirrer-hot plates, glassware, and lab supplies (e.g. pipets, weighing boats, etc). This area also contains sinks for cleaning and integrated shelves for glassware. An autoclave is also utilized to sterilize glassware and/or prepared tissue culture media.

Also, the facility includes a transfer area. This is a working area where sterile conditions are maintained. A Laminar flow hood is generally used for this purpose, which ultra filters air to remove any microorganisms or particulate matter. In the hood, there are also several dry sterilizers to remove contamination on scissors and blades during tissue transfer.

Another important area of the lab is the growing area. This is where tissue culture is grown with a light-cycle control system and humidity/air filter control. Organic growing capacity is estimated at 250,000 plants per annum, which can be scaled as needed through partner contract-growing resources.

Lastly, a storage area was created for bulky lab supplies and a place where plant tissue can be stored in refrigeration inside specialized plastic bags for long term, on-demand use.

The lab facility and fog house has a backup, 16KW propane powered generator to ensure integrity through adverse environmental conditions.

Customers interested in learning more about upcoming plant availability should contact Aquatic Plants of Florida’s Sales department toll free at (800)-266-1272.

Gil Sharell, Aquatic Plants of Florida’s founder and president, said, “We are excited as growers by this opportunity to both expand our native plant propagation knowledge and continue to work with others in this area. It is our primary intent to supplement our growing capacity of scarce native plants and further our organization’s work in habitat restoration.”