In the seventies of the last century, plant tissue culture met its expansion, with most attention for the propagation of ornamentals. Over the past 25 years it reached maturity, with commercial applications in many more plant-related sectors. This development was possible because of the exemplary intercourse between fundamental and applied research and commercial operations. In this review paper we focus on major breakthrough during the past 25 years. Although the review is not exhaustive, we present the most important topics related to the ecophysiology of in vitro cultures, new and old technical approaches addressed to reduce the production costs and the application of the in vitro techniques for breeding and phytopathological aspects.
Keywords: in vitro culture, ecophysiology, plant pathology, nursery, breeding