Reducing in vitro cultivation costs by replacing nano salts in order to commercialize this technique in Iran

Cultivation of some plants in vitro and field conditions is difficult and in some cases not cost-effective due to harsh production conditions, reduced yield due to the spread of pests and viral and fungal diseases, and other factors. For this purpose, the use of biotechnology methods, especially in vitro cultivation, has increased over the past few decades. This science has played a key role in the production of new varieties, the propagation of difficult-to-produce plants, and the protection of rare and endangered species. However, in order to use this technique commercially for each plant, it requires trial and error, which is done in research laboratories. However, the progress and expansion of this technique is progressing at a slower pace due to the high cost of raw materials. For this purpose, in this research, in order to reduce the cost of ready-made culture media in order to commercialize this technique in the country, a different combination of nano salts was used as an alternative and cost-effective medium in initial and preliminary experiments. During this study, in the first treatment, a combination of nano salts (potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  phosphorus,  nitrogen, and supermicro fertilizer) was used as the base concentration, and in the second to sixth treatments, concentrations of 0.5, 0.25, 0.05, 0.02, and 0.01 times the base concentration were used, respectively. MS culture medium was also considered as the control culture medium. Leaf microsamples of African violet saintpaulia ionatha were cultured in the mentioned treatments, and the amount of necrosis and cost estimates for each treatment were calculated. At the end of the experiment, the results showed that the fifth treatment had the best performance by stimulating callus and swelling of the tissue to produce shoots, and no tissue necrosis due to toxicity was observed in it. Also, a cost reduction of 3600 times is provided if this treatment is replaced with ready-made MS culture medium.