Plant husbandry – Process
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-09
2004-09-21
Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)
Plant husbandry
Process
Reexamination Certificate
active
06792715
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to the field of plant propagation and more specifically to the mass propagation of plants with plant parasites, preferably of plants with green plant parasites, so called hemi-parasites.
This application claims the priority of Danish patent application no. PA 2001 01078 filed on Jul. 9, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. All patent and non-patent references cited in that application, or in the present application, are also hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
Plants with plant parasites are grown for a variety of purposes. Some plant parasites such as mistletoes contain active ingredients that are used as pharmaceutical preparations for treating a number of diseases including cancer and AIDS.
Mistletoe may also be used for producing medicaments for the treatment of diseases of the small intestine (disorders caused by medicaments or infections), of bone marrow (aplasia and insufficiency, for instance as a result of agranulositosis caused by medicaments or radiation), of the thymus (dysfunction, aplasia or hypoplasia), the spleen (dysfunction), lymph nodes (aplasia or hypoplasia resulting from disorders caused by medicaments or radiation), for adjuvant treatment—also combined with chemopharmaceuticals—of analgesia, of liver, pancreas and kidney disorders as well as malign tumors, specially of breast, cervical, colon or prostate carcinoma. Viscum dry extracts can also be used to stimulate cellular immunity, to treat leucocytopenia, granulocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, erythrocytopenia as well as immunoglobulin deficiencies as a result of cancer, disorders characterized by a deficiency of the immune system, specially AIDS, in addition to bacterial and viral induced symptoms such as inflammatory disorders of the small intestine, the pancreas and the kidneys, hepatitis A, B and C, skin lesions (ulcus cruis), herpes simplex I and II as well as herpes zoster, and also to treat hyperlipoproteinemia with high levels of cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and low levels of HDL cholesterol (WO 98/13053).
Plants with parasites, especially hemi-parasites, are also grown for ornamental purposes and are used as pot plants, bonzais or ornamental garden plants. Due to high production costs this market has been very limited up till now. However, world wide there is an increased demand for unusual plants, not just for plant collectors but also for ordinary consumers of pot plants. Mistletoes are traditionally associated with Christmas in a number of countries, and it is believed that price is the primary obstacle against pot plants with mistletoes becoming a major sales success during the Christmas season. A significant market for mistletoes is the sale as cut-green or cut-greens. Branches for this purpose are normally cut in nature in areas of massive mistletoe infections.
The commercial production of pot plants and ornamental garden plants is very limited due to high costs associated with the steps required to produce a plant with an established plant parasite. Traditionally, production is done in a two step process. In the first step the mother plant is propagated by any known means such as germination of seeds, by cuttings, by grafting or through in vitro culture and subsequently grown to a certain size. In the second step, the plant parasite is established on the host plant, and after successful establishment the plant is cultured until the plant parasite has reached an acceptable size. The period from sowing the seed on the host plant until the plant is ready for sale may well take two to three years or more. For a plant that is to be sold in a temperate climate zone, this production is normally carried out in greenhouses, since most pot plants are of tropic or sub-tropic origin. Due to the requirement for greenhouse facilities and the length of the production period, the prize of such a product is prohibitively high for the average consumer.
Growing the plants with the plant parasite outdoors under tropical or sub-tropical conditions may lower the costs for climate control, but shipping costs make this possibility less attractive. Besides, most countries or regions have restrictions against the import of rooted plants with soil, due to the risk of spreading plant pathogens.
Consequently, the price of such plants is very high and there is a need in the field to provide cost effective methods for producing plants with established plant parasites to be used as pot plants, ornamental plants and for production of plant parasite biomass for pharmaceutical purposes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect the invention relates to a method for preparation of a plant comprising in successive order establishing at least one plant parasite on at least one branch of a host plant, cutting at least one branch with at least one established plant parasite, and rooting the at least one cut branch.
Preferably, the invention relates to host plants for which commercially feasible methods for propagation via cuttings are available or can be developed.
In a number of investigated cases it turns out that the cuttings are capable of rooting with substantially the same rooting percentages as cuttings without plant parasites despite the presence of the parasites. This is unexpected due to the presence of the plant parasite.
Furthermore, several advantages are obtained by the inventive method.
Many plant parasites may be established on the same motherplant. Thereby less space is taken up by the method compared to prior art methods. Furthermore, large and strong mother plants can be used as hosts for the parasites. Large plants can more easily tolerate the presence of the parasites and can better support the growth of the parasites. After cutting the first series of cuttings from the motherplant, a new series of plant parasites can be sown on the branches of the same motherplant to produce a new round of cuttings with plant parasites.
Another great advantage is that the host plant with the parasites can be grown outdoors in a climate zone suitable for the host plant, preferably in its natural distribution area. Cuttings carrying the established plant parasite can then be shipped to the climate zone where the plants are to be sold ultimately. Cuttings can normally be imported without any quarantine restrictions. In the climate zone, where the plants are to be sold the cuttings can be rooted and grown until ready for sale. Thereby the time necessary in greenhouse can be considerably shortened.
According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method for preparation of a plant comprising in successive order
establishing at least one plant parasite on a first host plant,
cutting at least one piece of the first host plant with the at least one established plant parasite, and
grafting the at least one cut piece on a second host plant using tip-budding.
One advantage of this aspect of the invention is that the production time can be reduced. Preferably the plant parasites are established on relatively large and healthy host plants, on which the parasites can grow to a considerable size. As soon as the graft union is successful the plant is ready for sale.
According to a further aspect the invention relates to a rootable cutting of a host plant comprising at least one established plant parasite. Some of the advantages of the rootable cutting have been mentioned above. A rootable cutting with at least one plant parasite can easily and relatively rapidly be rooted and grown to a size suitable for sale.
When making the cutting, due care can be taken to the appearance of the finished garden- or pot plant product. For example, the cutting can be made so that the parasite is located in the lower or upper portion of the sales-plant. The parasite can be located on the main stem or on a side branch of the cutting. Furthermore, the cutting can be cut above the place of the plant parasite to produce a plant with more side branches. In other applications, it may be of interest to select a position for the plant parasite, which m
Jørgensen Bo I.
Smidstrup Damgaard Pedersen Jørgen
Campell Bruce R.
Jacobson and Holman PLLC
Krawczewicz Myers Louanne
University of Copenhagen
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