Propagule production of Eucheuma denticulatum (Burman) Collins et Harvey by tissue culture

Plants of Eucheuma denticulatum collected from Danajon Reef, Bohol, the Philippines were used to produce tissue cultures for the purpose of generating new strains. The plants were sectioned and grown in media encouraging callus growth. New shoots were produced after 3 months of in vitro culture. After another 3 months of laboratory growth, 5 plants were outplanted in the field. After 4 months growth at approximately 0.50 m depth, the five plants grew to biomasses that ranged from 354.9 to 1055.9 g wet weight. They demonstrated growth rates that ranged from 5.8 to 7.2% day(-1). The growth rates of the plants produced through tissue culture in this study suggest that such plants can grow at rates as good as, if not better than, those of seedlings produced by the traditional method in the commercial cultivation of E. denticulatum.