Germination and Development of the Seedling

The inoculated start to enlarge in size within two weeks . After about three to six weeks they develop chlorphyll. The seeds enlarge in size all the time assuming the shape of a spherule . It develops absobing hairs and a depression on top, where the first leaf primordia appear after 2-3 months . This is now called the protocorm. With the second that the third leaf, roots also make their appearance . By the sixth month the seedling is well differentiated . Ten to twelve months after sowing , teh seedling is well differentiated . Ten to twelve months after sowing , the seedlings are ready to transplant .

The vigourously growing seedlings soon exhaust the nutrients contained in the medium . Also the medium is likely to get sour by the accumulation of the metabolic products . Due to these the seedlings , after a few months growth , show sign of retardation . Sparying the seedlings with a fresh solution of nutrients in distilled water , introduced through the stopper by way of a hypodermic syringe will help to revive the plants . When seedlings are too crowded or too unevenly distributed , transplanting to a fresh flask of medium often gives a boost to the seedlings , causing them to grow rapidly . But this is often a risky process, because this is a time consuming operation and the chances of contamination are very high . There are specially devised apparatus eg. McEwan 's flask , which help to carry out this operation with the least possible amout of risk .