ABSTRACT
The aim of germplasm conservation is to ensure the availability of useful germplasm at any time. In case of vegetatively propagated species, preservation of germplasm heavily taxes manpower and land resources. As in vitro techniques are becoming more important in crop improvement through the use of somatic cell genetics, the material produced in vitro will have to be conserved in vitro. The conservation of plants in vitro has a number of advantages over in vivo conservation. Germplasm storage in vitro is crucial for the future development and safety of agriculture. Cryopreservation of plant cells, organs and tissues received widespread importance mainly due to the emphasis placed in recent years on in vitro manipulations with cultured cells. The cryopreservation of plant cell culture involves the following steps: raising sterile tissue cultures, addition of cryoprotectants and pretreatment, freezing, storage, thawing, determination of survival/viability, and plant growth and regeneration.
