Sierra Gold Nurseries' Micah E. Stevens talks tissue culture benefits and uses in CEA

photo courtesy of micah stevens

Micah Stevens has been at the helm of Sierra Gold Nurseries’ Quality Control Lab working on tissue culture since 2019.

With a bachelor’s in horticulture science from the University of Kentucky and a master’s and Ph.D. in forest tree genetics from Purdue University, Stevens has worked relentlessly to update and advance the testing capabilities of the Sierra Gold QC lab while keeping pace with the needs of the nursery and industry.

Stevens gave Produce Grower a few insights into tissue culture ahead of his upcoming panel at Indoor Ag-Con.

Produce Grower: What are the advantages of using plants from tissue culture?

Micah Stevens: One of the biggest things I tell people about the advantages of using tissue culture plants is that it’s always true-to-type clonal material. When you’re dealing with seeds, they are just like when you have siblings; they might have the same parents, but they’re always going to come out a little bit different from one another. It’s hard to get true-to-type material from seeds. You always end up with this heterozygous population that differs in a way that is not always ideal for your production system. With tissue culture, you have clonal material, which means that it’s easier to manage in a greenhouse.

PG: What are some misconceptions growers have when it comes to using a tissue culture lab?

MS: It is that tissue culture plants are weaker. I’m not sure how this started. I’ve been doing tissue culture for about 16 to 17 years now, and, in my experience, that’s never been the case. They’ve always come out strong right out of the gate. It’s apples and oranges when planting a seed versus planting a tissue culture plant. They might take a few weeks to catch up, but once they’re planted and established, there’s really no difference between a seeded plant or a tissue culture plant.

PG: What are some of the most important considerations when buying from a tissue culture lab?

MS: I think some of the things to consider from the grower side is to just start with an open and honest relationship with the TC lab and make sure that you’re not going to get over-promised and under-delivered. And I think part of that is starting small. Going all-in on tissue culture plants, if it’s not something that you’ve done before, can feel daunting and a bit risky. The other big thing is partnering with a TC lab that is going to let you come and see how they produce their plants, tour their operation and make sure that you feel good about the plants you’re getting. It’s a big investment.

PG: How do you anticipate TC labs will change the CEA market in terms of new varieties and scalability?

MS: Tissue culture really allows you to rapidly multiply material that is just unmatched by any other traditional method, whether it’s cuttings or seed or what have you. To get from a single selection to widespread industry use (depending on the crop), it can take decades to build up enough material to get plants to the grower. But with the advent of commercial tissue culture, we’ve shortened that timeline.