Vitropic: a laboratory for production of vitroplants of tropical species in Languedoc-Roussillon
2001
Côte, François-Xavier
Vitropic S.A., a subsidiary of Cirad, is a laboratory at St Mathieu de Tréviers near Montpellier which produces vitroplants (plants obtained by in vitro culture). It was set up in 1986 and now has an annual turnover of 1 million US$, 15 employees, and produces two to three million vitroplants a year, especially of banana, which are sent mainly to the West Indies and Africa. Vitropic is a leader in these foreign markets and its planlets production site is one of the more important in the world for banana. An example of how biotechnology improves production The production of vitroplants does not involve genetic transformation techniques but rather tissue culture. Plants selected for their agronomic traits are multiplied rapidly in test tubes. The miniature banana plantlets produced under the protected laboratory conditions are disease-free and are shipped from Montpellier to the production zones. Their utilization as planting material enhances production, since vitroplants give greater yields with less use of pesticide when grown in soil free of nematodes (soil parasites). In the case of banana, vitroplants help promoting a more environmentallyfriendly agriculture. The need for constant innovation To increase its know-how and to improve and diversify its products, Vitropic must innovate constantly and invest in research and development. Agropolis, and in particular Cirad, provide Vitropic with a favourable environment and expert scientific and technical partners in the pursuit of its goals. Vitropic operates mostly in the Languedoc-RoussiIIon region, but is also developing collaborations with numerous partners from countries of the South. (Texte intégral)
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