General introduction: a personal reflection on the use of liquid media for in vitro culture -- Bioreactors -- Application of bioreactor design principles to plant micropropagation -- Bioreactor design for propagation of somatic embryos -- Practical aspects of bioreactor application in mass propagation of plants -- Simple bioreactors for mass propagation of plants -- Application of bioreactor systems for large scale production of horticultural and medicinal plants -- Membranes to reduce adherence of somatic embryos to the cell lift impeller of a bioreactor -- Cost-effective mass cloning of plants in liquid media using a novel growtek bioreactor -- Multiplication of Chrysanthemum shoots in bioreactors as affected by culture method and inoculation density of single node stems -- Control of growth and differentiation of bioreactor cultures of Physcomitrella by environmental parameters -- Temporary Immersion Systems -- Temporary immersion system: a new concept for use liquid medium in mass propagation -- Mass propagation of tropical crops in temporary immersion systems -- Use of growth retardants for banana (Musa AAA cv. Grand Naine) shoot multiplication in temporary immersion systems -- Somatic embryo germination of Psidium guajava L. in the Rita® temporary immersion system and on semisolid medium -- Application of a temporary immersion system in mass propagation of Phalaenopsis -- Propagation of Prunus and Malus by temporary immersion -- Optimisation of growing conditions for the apple rootstock M26 grown in RITA containers using temporary immersion principle -- Experimental use of a novel temporary immersion system for liquid culture of olive microshoots -- Shoot regeneration from nodules of Charybdis sp.: A comparison of semisolid, liquid and temporary immersion culture systems -- Somatic Embryogenesis and Shoot Initiation -- Propagation of Norway spruce via somatic embryogenesis -- Norway spruce somatic embryogenesis: membrane rafts as a compromise between liquid and solidified media -- Picea abies somatic embryo development from suspension cultures and agar-based cultures: a comparison -- Somatic embryogenesis by liquid culture of epidermal layers in sunflower: from genetic control to cell development -- Development of photoautotrophy in Coffea somatic embryos enables mass production of clonal transplants -- Potential of flow cytometry for monitoring genetic stability of banana embryogenic cell suspension cultures -- Somatic embryogenesis of Gentiana genus IV.: Characterisation of Gentiana cruciata and Gentiana tibetica embryogenic cell suspensions -- Induction and growth of tulip ‘Apeldoorn’ bulblets from embryo cultures in liquid media -- Micropropagation of Ixia hybrids in liquid medium -- Micropropagation of Rosa damascena and R. bourboniana in liquid cultures -- Commercial Process Development and Culture Environment -- Mass propagation of conifer trees in liquid cultures — progress towards commercialization -- Potentials for cost reduction in a new model of commercial micropropagation -- A new approach for automation: Sorting and sowing dehydrated somatic embryos of Daucus and Coffea using seed technologies -- Use of the temporary immersion bioreactor system (RITA®) for production of commercial Eucalyptus clones in Mondi Forests (SA) -- Efficiency in thin-film liquid system for Hosta micropropagation -- Aeration stress in plant tissue cultures -- Macro- and micronutrient nutrition of plants in greenhouses, hydroponic systems, and in vitro culture on gelled media -- Adaptions of the mineral composition of tissue culture media on the basis of plant elemental analysis and composition of hydroponic substrates -- Biomass for Secondary Metabolite Production -- Development and validation of an efficient low cost bioreactor for furanocoumarin production with Ruta graveolens shoot cultures -- Comparison of secondary plant metabolite production in cell suspension, callus culture and temporary immersion system -- Cultivation of root cultures of Panax ginseng in different bioreactors and in temporary immersion — Comparison of growth and saponin production -- Optimisation of Panax ginseng liquid cell cultures for biomass accumulation and ginsenoside production -- Tissue culture of Corydalis yanhusuo (Fumariaceae) and its medicinal compound production from somatic embryo-derived plants -- Production of taxanes in callus and suspension cultures of Taxus baccata L.

High-efficiency micropropagation, with relatively low labour costs, has been demonstrated in this unique book detailing liquid media systems for plant tissue culture. World authorities (e.g. von Arnold, Curtis, Takayama, Ziv) contribute seminal papers together with papers from researchers across Europe that are members of the EU COST Action 843 "Advanced micropropagation systems". First-hand practical applications are detailed for crops – including ornamentals and trees – using a wide range of techniques, from thin-film temporary immersion systems to more traditional aerated bioreactors with many types of explant – shoots to somatic embryos. The accounts are realistic, balanced and provide a contemporary account of this important aspect of mass propagation. This book is essential reading for all those in commercial micropropagation labs, as well as researchers worldwide who are keen to improve propagation techniques and lower economic costs of production. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in the applied plant sciences and horticulture will find the book an enlightened treatise.