In vitro culture and germination of terrestrial Asian orchid seeds

Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of flowering plants, and many of its species are highly valuable as herbal medicines and to the horticultural industry. To meet commercial requirements and to conserve natural resources, in vitro seed germination has been utilized to produce large quantities of uniform seedlings. In general, terrestrial orchid seeds are more difficult to germinate and grow than epiphytic orchids. Terrestrial orchid seeds have a hardened seed coat and more stringent requirements for germination in vitro. In this chapter, we document the timing of seed collection and pretreatments for improving in vitro germination of some terrestrial Asian orchids. The process of in vitro germination is demonstrated, including (1) the culture of immature seeds; (2) the culture of mature seeds; and (3) subsequent seedling development. For immature seed culture, optimal timing of seed harvest is key to maximizing germination; for mature seed culture, selection of adequate pretreatment conditions (i.e., the duration and concentrations of pretreatment solutions) is essential to improve germination.