Tissue culture foundation was laid down in 1955 by a French botanist George Morel by successfully producing virus-free orchid plants. He standardized the technique for apical meristem culture to produce millions of virus- free orchids
(John et al., 1997). During 1970s, tissue culture technology was well established in developed countries and during 1980s these countries generated huge benefits by transferring this technology to the developing countries. Tissue culture-based plant propagation has now emerged as a leading agro-technology globally, because of immense potential to produce millions of identical clones within a short time period (
Joshi and Kumar, 2013). This technology has certain advantages over the conventional methods as through micropropagation, disease free, elite and uniform planting material can be produced at a rapid rate. The plants can be multiplied under controlled parameters such as pressure, temperature and light round the year Micropropagation technology is a more capital-intensive enterprise as compared to the conventional methods, major reasons behind this are requirement of skilled manpower, chemicals, consumables and knowledgebase
(Bahuguna et al., 2011). Earlier it was difficult to commercialize micropropagation due to higher investments as compared to traditional methods. However, these bottlenecks were resolved through innovations of efficient and reproducible methodologies with improved quality of planting material. Still, cost of inputs like labor and capital, chemical consumables, media preparations, electricity and other inputs must be determined essentially to encourage farmers and entrepreneurs to take up the venture.
Production of disease free, elite and uniform clones of various medicinal and aromatic crops, floriculture and horticulture crops and fruits and vegetables crops has achieved new frontiers in the world trade of planting material to enhance livelihood and employment. Even rural parts of the country are also getting start-ups in tissue culture for rural upliftment and employment. Even, threatened and endangered plant species can also be successfully conserved and mass propagated through micropropagation (
Pathak and Abido, 2014). Government of India through Department of Biotechnology (DBT), CSIR, MSME, agriculture department, horticulture department and other RandD Institutes are providing hands on training and skill development to urban and rural populations for setting up small tissue culture units for mass scale propagation of different economically important crops.
Due to diverse agro-climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh and changing economic scenario of Indian agriculture in the present era, our research paper critically reviews the economic importance of heeng, monk fruit and bamboo tissue culture. CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur is the only CSIR laboratory in the state dedicated to impart training and skill development of farmers and entrepreneurs to setup tissue culture units to meet the increasing demand of quality planting material for agricultural diversification. CSIR-IHBT, Palampur is also engaged in capacity building of the state government officials for the knowledge dissemination in micropropagation of different plant species to connect between science and public policy reforms to enhance investment for sustainability of rural agriculture and to increase opportunities for economic progress of the state (
Withers and Engelmann, 1997;
Watt et al., 2000; Vyas and Singh, 2025). For the first time
heeng and monk fruit cultivation in India has been started by CSIR-IHBT, Palampur under “Self Reliant India” movement.
Current article focuses on economic importance and recent advancements for production of quality planting material of heeng, monk fruit and bamboo crops. In this article we present the first detailed description of the economy of the cost of producing micropropagated plantlets after changing various parameters during different stages of micropropagation. Also presented is a cost/benefit analysis for large scale micropropagation of economically important crops. In addition, few equations were discussed to predict the total cost of tissue culture unit using a standardized protocol. The current study reveals the scope of mass propagation of such crops through determining the overall expenditure and gross returns to motivate farmers for setting up tissue culture units for economic gains and to make micropropagation an economically
viable tool for crop improvement and nutritional security.
Asafoetida: A resource for medicine and cuisines
The genus,
Ferula (Apiaceae) consists of 140 species that are widespread from the Mediterranean region to central Asia.
Ferula assa-foetida L. is an endangered medicinal, perennial and economically important herbal spice among the thirty species of
Ferula genus indigenous to Afghanistan and Iran
(Yadav et al., 2024). An oleo-gum resin, called asa-foetida (heeng) is obtained by incision from the roots and used as a flavoring spice in cuisines of South Asian region. The plant is monoecious and reaches upto 2 m height and produces either bitter or sweet resin (
Iranshahy and Iranshahi, 2011). Rural population residing in Mediterranean region primarily utilize heeng for traditional herbal therapies. It has also been reported in Iranian folk medicine to be antiseptic, aphrodisiac, anthelmintic, analgesic, nervine, sedative, laxative, expectorant, digestive, carminative, aromatic and antispasmodic
(Hamayun et al., 2003).
The oleo-gum-resin has a bitter taste and characteristic sulfurous odour and coagulates on exposure to air (
Kavoosi and Rowshan, 2013). After drying, it turns into dark brown to black in color and its main constituents are essential oil, which contains monoterpenes, sulfur-containing compounds, sesquiterpene, ferulic acid and other volatile terpenoids (
Kavoosi and Rowshan, 2013). Essential oils of different oleo-gum-resins differ in both quantity and quality i.e., chemical composition, reactive nitrogen species (RNS), reactive oxygen species (ROS), H
2O
2 and TBARS scavenging activities
(Punia et al., 2024). For this reason, the essential oil obtained from the young stages of
F. assa-foetida are used as natural antioxidants in food industry, to improve the oxidative stability of fatty foods during storage, while essential oil from later stages are used in health industry, as antimicrobial agent.
Drastic increase in the global demand of medicinal plants due to resurgence of customer interest in herbal medicines. Most of the demand is being fulfilled from wild populations, but still the extraction methods are invariably crude and unsystematic, causing overexploitation of this species, resulting in depletion of their natural populations and habitat due to poor seed germination (
Golmohammadi, 2013;
Moghadam et al., 2014). Thus, development and implementation of conservation strategies are urgently required to exploit this important species. In addition, strategic planning is required for appropriate utilization besides monitoring the quantity and quality of products and restoration of the germinating locals and pastures.
Bamboo: A renewable energy resource for circular economy
Bamboo belongs to Poaceae family and 80% global bamboo forests are in tropical, subtropical and mild temperate zones of India, China and Myanmar (~198 lakh ha)
(Elejoste et al., 2021). Out of global 90 genera of 1200 species, India is endowed with 125 indigenous and 11 exotic species of bamboo belonging to 23 genera spread in 1,60,037 Km
2 area
(Solomon et al., 2020). Out of these, many species are utilized as an industrial material and range of traditional and conventional household, medicines and commercial purposes due to biodegradability, high growth rate, cost effective processing
(Benjamin et al., 2021; Borthakur, 2022;
Mohan et al., 2022). International trade value of bamboo is 68.8 billion USD affecting 2.5 billion people globally and India contributes 45% to the world bamboo production with 4.5 % global market share
(Ting et al., 2008). Singha and Timung (2015) reported that bamboo is back bone of the rural economy and livelihood for tribal population. Bamboo shoots contain proteins, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins besides other bioactive compounds and antioxidants i.e., vitamins C and E, phenols and trace minerals including iron, zinc, copper and selenium (
Kaur, 2018;
Nirmala et al., 2018). In addition, due to high tensile strength, bamboo (28,000 PSI) is used for construction of buildings and other household items in comparison to steel (23,000 PSI) (
van Dam et al., 2018;
Borthakur, 2022). Further, bamboo is an effective carbon sink which can mitigate greenhouse effect
(Xu et al., 2022). Similarly, charcoal obtained from pyrolysis of bamboo biomass possess high surface area, pore distribution, bulk density and better absorption properties than wood charcoal
(Chien et al., 2011; Samarawickrama et al., 2020).
At present the energy transition has become an important topic globally, towards developing pathways to reduce deforestation and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060
(Xu et al., 2022). In the current scenario of global warming and severe climatic vagaries, bamboo provide an environmentally-benign and zero waste model for circular economy by following a closed-loop system to reduce poverty, employment generation and sustainable development (
Van Der Lugt and King, 2019;
Chauhan et al., 2020; Kumari et al., 2024). The biomass power plant of bamboo has demonstrated economic potential (1kWh of electricity per 1.2 kg) with promising energy for the future and offers environmental benefits for communities
(Sharma et al., 2018; Saepullah et al., 2022). Developing nations can produce renewable energy, biofuel, bio-based chemical products and renewable carbon such as cellulose and lignin from bamboo, because it can grow on marginal lands, highly drought tolerant, high growth rate, phytoremediate heavy metals and requires low input
(Ekwe et al., 2022). Thus, developing countries can play a key role in the decarbonization process that leap-frogs the industrialized world to maximize the potential benefits and attain net-zero carbon emission
(Tripathi et al., 2024).
Monk fruit: An alternative resource for natural sweetener
The sweetener industry is at the crossroads to re-evolve itself for climate resilience, consumer demand for natural sweeteners and urgent need to diversify value added products to encourage for market revenue volatility and sustainable circular economies (
Graybill 2020;
Aurand et al., 2022). Strategies are required to tolerate climatic vagaries by introducing new genotypes, soil and pest management strategies to improve the sugar industries and livelihood of farmers
(McGree et al., 2020; Singh, 2020). Monk fruit (
Siraitia grosvenorii) is a high intensity, zero calorie sweetener and perennial vine endemic to Southeast Asia and Southern China
(Gong et al., 2019). Fruit extracts are used in traditional Chinese medicine for remediation of obesity, diabetes, lung congestion, cold, cough, sore throat and cancer and also show bioactive potential against diabetes, inflammation, allergy and bacteria (
Pandey and Chauhan 2019). Fourty different cucurbitane-type triterpene glycosides, termed as mogrosides, provide 300 times more sweetness than sucrose and given the status of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)
(Seki et al., 2018). Mogrosides also induce a hypoglycemic reaction by reducing α-glucosidase activity, lipid peroxidation and enhancing insulin secretion
(Gong et al., 2020) and improves blood glucose levels
(Li et al., 2022). Therefore, monk fruit sweetener has been utilized in several food and beverages (
Pandey and Chauhan, 2019).
Despite having substantial applications in food, artificial sweeteners have long-term inflammatory and mutagenesis effects. Thus, natural sweeteners utilization in food and beverage industries is rising at an unprecedented rate globally (USD 85.92 billion in 2020), as a way to avoid health issues and to meet consumer insistence
(Eggleston et al., 2021; Anwar et al., 2023). Natural sweeteners positively affect the metabolism, reduces weight and blood sugar levels, have low fructose content and low glycemic index and can adsorb nutritionally beneficial biomolecules, such as minerals, phytoceuticals and vitamins. Monk fruit is not cultivated outside China due to (1) lack of agronomic practices, (2) lack of quality planting materials, (3) low environmental adaptability and (4) less clinical data available (
Romo-Romo et al., 2017). However, recently CSIR-IHBT has pioneered in India in developing its micropropagation protocol for mass scale propagation (
Patial et al., 2024a; b)
Economic analysis of plant micropropagation
Tissue culture has emerged as one of the leading economic means for multiplication of plants under controlled environment for clonal propagation in short time span and multiplied continuously throughout the year
(Tomar et al., 2007). Plant micropropagation has been commercialized past several years with advantage of rapid production of elite and disease free plantlets of ornamentals, fruits and forest trees (
Chen, 2016). Current market capacity of tissue cultured products is 500 million to 1 billion plants per annum. Furthermore, to develop transgenic lines and CRISPR-cas mutants for improved traits it is essential to develop and implement reproducible tissue culture protocols, which provides half the gain required for total technology
(Nath et al., 2024). Tissue culture for mass propagation relies upon two main factors; one is the ability to produce sufficient quality planting material using controlled environment, while the other depends on the proper management practices. However, being a capital-intensive industry, it is expensive in comparison to conventional propagation and requires specialized manpower. Therefore, practical utility and economic
viability of micropropagation technology is a matter of debate. Relatively high cost of tissue culture plantlets is compensated with reducing growth cycles and estimates of increased planting stock and high multiplication rate.
Numerous technological ways to make micropropagation cost effective have been developed, but not extensively quantified such as proliferation rate, growth regulators, time and nutrients required for proliferation and differentiation and scalable framework (
Risner et al., 2020). Major problems to be enlisted are shifting to low-cost areas, skilled manpower, elimination of production stages, biological optimization and labor-intensive work (
Omar and Aouine, 2007). Thus, few companies have shifted their units to low-cost nations for cost effective production (
Chu, 1995;
Ilan and Khayat, 1997). Chief components required investment are equipment, electricity (air conditioners), chemicals, glassware, labor (35-60%), office expenses, sales and marketing. The cost of establishing facilities and equipment is too high in developing nations, while labor costs are 60-70% high in developed countries.
Ahloowalia and Savangikar (2004) suggested the application of natural light, temperature regulation and reducing energy consumption of the autoclave, cheaper and disposable containers and cheaper medium for cost effectiveness. Automation makes the management easier, reduce contamination and increase utilization capacity. Alternatively, replacing hardening by extended micropropagation spaces is also beneficial, especially for the root proliferation (
Chen 2015;
Chen and Huang, 2015).
Economic analyses showed that 5% capital cost of the total cost and 20-25% increase in consumable cost does not affect the cost of plants significantly. Similarly, increase in capacity will increase labor number for subsequent subculturing, which takes 29% of the total cost, while 25% reduction in labor (and increasing remaining efficiency) decreases total cost by USD 100
(Anderson et al., 1977; Donnan, 1986). In addition, axillary budding on the primary shoots increases 4-6 fold multiplication rate, while inducing adventitious shoots increases 10 fold multiplication rate. Further, it was reported earlier that genetic stability in tissue culture is dependent on techniques and/or methods (
Dolezel and Novak 1984). Moreover, a drop in rooting efficiency upto 60% increases the base cost by about USD 100. Thus, increasing the efficiency in different stages will improve the overall technology and cost reduction. With the increase in
in vitro growth of 30% a competitive cost of USD 200 per 1000 plantlets can be achieved (
Aitken-Christie 1985;
Hakman et al., 1985). Cost reductions could also be achieved through the automation of labour-intensive steps. In India commercial scale micropropagation is limited to certain crops with high government subsidies. Tissue culture produce are not being able to enter regular plant nurseries in India, because of prohibitive costs and lack of improved genotypes, heavy royalties on imported varieties, low consumption, uncertainty in consignment acceptance, stringent quality parameters and short shelf life.
Automated production technology
Automation helps in achieving more reliable micropropagation products, as it allows standardization of protocols and avoid human error or manual variations besides providing the adaptability required for
in vitro cultures. The “automated production technology”, which has already been well adapted in various industries past several years, offers added advantage in functionality of the system, exact process parameters and extremely high reproducibility in addition to cost effectiveness and high throughput. Thus, apart from investment and maintenance expenditure, the higher quality of products is essential. The global market value for “Automated Production Technology” is predicted to grow at 10% annual rate, with total value between USD 2 to 3.5 billion (
Nießing et al., 2021). At present, high throughput and novel technologies are gaining attention, opening up entirely new arena for production of
in vitro biological, biochemical or pharmacological products
(Daniszewski et al., 2018). When handling “Automated Production Technology”, primary concern is pluripotency maintenance, due to highly sensitive culture conditions and media compositions for higher multiplication rate
(Kinney et al., 2011).
The technical experts need to be familiar with procedures and devices and well planned process chain that can be repeated several times with constant accuracy. Thus, highly qualified and well-trained personnel are essential to handle the cultures correctly to avoid external contamination. The mechanical activity is extremely repetitive for routine media exchange and subculturing. Further, process automation also enables data recording for quality control. The scheduler also enables the platform to plan optimal process and to parallelize processes in order to increase the throughput of the system. In automated production, it is crucial to ensure no negative impact on the quality of cultures. Optimally implemented automation consistently yield reliable produces of higher quality. This increases product value, leading to higher selling price and increasing profitability.
The primary data collection from scientists/technical experts from Agriculture and Biotechnology Divisions. Further data collected through questionnaire designed and pre-tested from state agriculture department and tissue culture laboratories in Himachal Pradesh. Initial information about cost of inputs, apparatus and knowledgebase for the year 2021-22 was gathered and assembled in following three components:
Medium term capital
In this component, large capital investments required to setup latest technology tissue culture lab were illustrated. Capital investments in account of land, architecture, apparatus and equipment’s and other mid-terms components required for establishment of hi-tech lab are studied.
Working/ recurring capital
Information related to working capital to meet out the present and short term obligations for operating the hi-tech tissue culture labs were illustrated in this component. Planting material requirement, chemical consumables and manpower expenditure required to meet out the present and future requirements of the labs for regular operations in the tissue culture labs were studied.
Management and production
After depicting the capital investments and working capital, Managerial practices were determined for production related to technical and scientific expertise through practical insight into lab experiments for R and D. Interpretations as well as substantial quantities of material inputs are detailed in study. Further, notations and annotations has been incorporated, wherever required to keep study understandable for readers to enable them to know about techniques to setup tissue culture units with latest technology beneath reference.
Analysis
In line with data collection and study objectives, tabular presentation is deployed to calculated profits and gains, production cost, variable cost on the investment. Further, for commensuration of the project breakeven output, benefit cost ratio (BCR), payback period and recompensing plans were studied as under:
Break even output (Y)
It indicates the level of production at which the producer neither loses money nor makes profit (6).
