Résumé
The Plant Biotechnology Laboratory (PBL) set up in Sabah, Malaysia, originated from a collaborative project between Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd (ICSB), a Malaysian. company, and GIRAD-Foret, a French Research and Development organization. One of the major achievements of the PBL to date has been to establish adapted protocols for in vitro mass propagation of superior teak (Tect6na grandis) genotypes, taking advantage of the tree improvement activities' developed within the same joint project . Research undertaken over the past few years in close relationship with field and nursery experiments has resulted in the development of a simple, efficient and cost-effective in vitro method for mass producing superior teaks, regard less of the age of the ortet. The technology is applicable for the introduction and multiplication of plant materials from seeds, nodal segments or meristematic tissues derived from selected genotypes. In the field, these tissue culture-issued materials have demonstrated true-to-type and vigorous development. With this capability to introduce and multiply any selected genotype, the establishment of large-scaled clonal plantations of teak is now highly feasible. The various origins of teaks produced by the PBL can be commercialized locally as ready for field planting material, or to oversea markets. Contamination-free tissue culture conditions further facilitate, in the absence of sanitation restrictions, cost efficient international dispatches in adapted airfreight containers of large numbers of good quality plants that can be easily acclimatized. Specific origins that are more suitable to the environmental conditions of distant countries can now be delivered safely in a very short time. These materials, encompassing different teak sources are undergoing various field tests. They have also been maintained in the laboratory with the intention of future deployment to suitable planting areas upon demand by interested planters. (Résumé d'auteur)