High-tech tissue culture

For more than 90 years, Nourse Farms has provided growers with virus-indexed, highly productive fruit plants. With plans for expansion, Nourse Farms is poised to stay on the cutting edge of the latest developments in the industry.

To amplify Nourse Farms’ commitment to innovation, the North American berry plant propagator will open the 15-acre North Carolina greenhouse it acquired last year. Additionally, Nourse Farms expects to open a modern tissue culture lab and a 7-acre greenhouse for foundation material in Massachusetts later this year.

Nourse Farms’ modern tissue culture lab will include automated tissue culture planters developed and manufactured by Viscon, in close collaboration with ISO Group. The automated tissue culture planters are a tremendous breakthrough for growers, redefining and elevating production while operating in a sterile environment, resulting in increased quality products.

“Tissue culture has been the cornerstone of what we do for decades, so strategic investments in technology and advancements in this part of our operation are not only ideal but necessary,” says Nourse Farms CEO John Place. “With the exciting addition of Viscon’s automated tissue culture planters to our operation, we expect that we will see a significant increase in our production and efficiency.”

This innovative system meticulously transplants individual plants at a predetermined position and depth in the agar, ensuring higher explant quality and improved growth uniformity. The planter includes advanced gripper technology that prioritizes precision and certifies minimal physical plant damage. The automated planter features in-place tool sterilization and automatically sterilizes between transplant batches. Safeguarding sterility reduces the contamination risk seen in manual plant handling.

This is typically a highly labor-intensive process that can now be automated and designed for better plant uniformity and contamination reduction.

“At Viscon, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation in agriculture, and this project with Nourse Farms is a testament to our dedication. We’ve meticulously designed this state-of-the-art facility and are currently in the process of manufacturing the latest equipment and technology to bring our vision to life. Nourse Farms, renowned for its commitment to excellence in berry plant cultivation, shares our vision for innovation and sustainability. We’re honored to embark on this journey together and support their mission of providing top-quality berry plants to customers worldwide,” says Daan Mansveld, sales manager of Viscon Plant Technology.

By adopting Viscon’s technology, Nourse Farms expects operational efficiency and control to strengthen due to enhanced traceability software that will capture data to help inform process decisions. The software uses barcoding technology that automatically tracks and traces plants in cups. This operation will allow Nourse Farms to monitor and accurately trace plants to the original plant material. By capturing this data, the growers can make informed plant production decisions based on production numbers, multiplication rates, material losses and location status.

By utilizing this system, Nourse Farms’ skilled lab technicians can focus on preparing and cutting the plants for transplanting.

“This is a transformative time for growers, and Nourse Farms is passionate about being at the forefront of implementing modern growing practices,” adds Place. “We might be over 90 years old, but we’ve only just begun. We are proud to continue leading the North American berry propagation industry and look forward to what will come out of our new modern tissue culture lab.”

This case study was provided by Indoor Ag-Con, indoor.ag.