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9/21/13 Quantum Tubers Corporation - rapid-growth biotechnology for potato minitubers, potato, potatoes, minitubers, mini-tubers, agbiotech, BioChamber, techno
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Minituber Rapid-Growth Technology
Executive Summary
A new and unprecedented method of rapid propagation of potato minitubers has been discovered by
Quantum Tubers Corporation, was proven at the University of Wisconsin, and is now Patented in the
United States. This Patented process provides for a geometric vs. linear method of growth in producing
the quantity of materials needed for producing pathogen-free potato seed on a commercial basis
worldwide. The method provides for seed potatoes known as minitubers.
Minitubers, which are produced fromin vitro
tissue cuttings, are completely pathogen free and areavailable for sale within the geographical markets which were heretofore, unavailable to commerce
because of phytopathological problems. Further, minitubers are produced under this system in such large
numbers that commercial development of seed potato markets and new potato varieties has now come of
age and is of significant interest to seed producing and marketing companies.
minitubers planted in field
New potato varieties can now come to the marketplace in as few as two years compared to the decades
needed just a year ago. Also, the pathogen-free nature of the minitubers provides for the potential to
produce more potatoes per acre/hectare verses the normal yields of later generation Foundation seed or
Certified seed in which their yields degrade by each new generation of seed stock. All of these benefits
provide for more production, and faster introduction of new varieties of processing and table stock
potatoes which means more food for a hungry world.
It has been known since before the turn of the century that the use of high quality seed potatoes is the
method of choice for preventing the decline in vigor that occurs due to the accumulation of pathogens
when tubers are repeatedly recycled for "seed". Traditional potato production has involved the use of seed
tubers that need to be continually monitored and evaluated for the presence of pathogens.
Since the early 1980s, the use of tissue culture methods has greatly facilitated the production process of
pathogen-free potato seed. While tissue culture growth methods have improved the availability of
pathogen-free nuclear stock, current production methods are only able to supply minitubers based on a
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labor intensive, low productivity-per-unit method. This method has not eliminated the number of
production generations necessary to multiply seed stocks for use by commercial growers. Elimination of
the field generations needed to multiply elite seed stocks is where the most important impact to the seed
potato industry can be experienced. The Quantum Tubers system will, economically, eliminate 5 to 7
generations of seed potato multiplication by lowering the costs and raising the quantities of the first two
field production generations.
Product Description
This patented process has been developed to overcome the drawbacks in
existing potato minituber production techniques and to provide a pioneering
method of producing virus-free potato minitubers. The process has been tested
and proofed with the cooperation of the University of Wisconsin's Plant
Pathology Department utilizing their greenhouse and Biotron facilities. This new
technology has the advantage of a short propagation time for harvestable seed
tubers (40-50 days) and high numbers of tubers produced per square meter
(10,000 per square meter annually) in the 1-5 gram range. These seed tuberscan be planted in open field conditions to directly propagate seed stock tubers,
effectively skipping several generations of costly field multiplication.
The technology is designed for industrial capacity in large scale commercial production. By applying
proven, new technology and newly available equipment, the geographic and climatic limitations involved in
seed potato production can be effectively eliminated. The economies of high production volumes per
square meter, prolific seedling sources, and high survival rates, in addition to low preparation costs and
reduced generations of field multiplication, represent a major change in nuclear stock production methods
attributable to the new minituber production system.
Seed Market Segments Effected
The customer base for the production from this facility will fall into several categories as follows:
Seed Producers: Minitubers have been out of the reach of most potato seed producers because of a lack
of sufficient supply. Currently, the need to shorten the production cycles of multiplied seed potato varieties
is causing pressure on the market to provide minitubers in sufficient quantity which will actually change
seed potato production as it is known today.
This supply availability of minituber seed stock will have the effect of causing a redistribution of the
certified seed acres/hectares, and the potential for elimination of a minimum of four layers of Field
Generations in any seed potato multiplication system.
End-Users/Potato Product Manufacturers: Food manufacturers and potato processors which
are dependent upon particular types and varieties of potato are candidates for vertical integration of
this process into their systems. The net benefit is control over the health, quality and physical
characteristics of the potato which is presented for processing.
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9/21/13 Quantum Tubers Corporation - rapid-growth biotechnology for potato minitubers, potato, potatoes, minitubers, mini-tubers, agbiotech, BioChamber, techno
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tuber set at 98 days
tuber set at 98 days
Characteristics such as size, length, color, solid-matter content and
starch type are all variety controllable, with new varieties constantly
made available. Also, disease factors which are not evident prior to
processing an end-product can be virtually eliminated which will check
the growth of rejected manufactured goods.
Research & Private Companies:
With the advent of transgenic
manipulation of the potato for
development of new varieties and new uses, comes a need for rapid
multiplication of the seed stocks for commercial propagation of these
new varieties.
Further, researchers are in need of developing a system for rapid-
multiplication of recently produced materials so field testing quantities
are easily available for proof-of-performance trials.
Seed Certification Agencies & Tissue Culture Laboratories: The standard method of obtainingminitubers has been from these two control sources, however the availability of minitubers is limited to an
arithmetic function of the number of plants that can be physically handled by their facilities. Historically,
production of minitubers in the low six figures is the upper limit of the abilities of seed certification agencies
or tissue culture labs.
The Quantum Tubers fast-growth technique of growing minitubers can provide both of these types of
organizations as contract purchasers, then as resellers of minitubers.
Minituber SystemHigh costs for minitubers is inherent to the current seed production system because they are an elite
product, however, the availability of the minitubers is actually the limitation of the current seed production
system. Availability and cost force the seed producers to multiply the production from their early
generation seed stocks for a further number of generations in order to sell economically priced seed piece
to commercial potato growers.
The Patented fast-growth process of producing minitubers provides for high volumes of economically
priced pathogen-free materials which eliminates several Field Generations of seed multiplication within this
new system.
Nuclear stock minitubers have traditionally been sold by weight and then planted in a given population per
acre/hectare. Because of the problems of obtaining a given number of minitubers of the same size and
weight, a pound/kilo could mean a handful of very large minitubers or a box full of pea-sized minitubers,
and most likely both sizes mixed together. By contrast, Quantum Tubers technology provides for large
numbers of minitubers of roughly equal size and weight as the final output of the system. The preferred
method of sale with this standardized size and weight criteria will be by the tuber count method rather than
by weight, which will more accurately match the required plants per acre/hectare population desired by
the seed producer.
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The more uniform size and weight of the minitubers will allow the seed producer to control populations
more accurately with precise seed placement while using modern planting equipment which may also be
used to plant other crops. This translates to a savings in handling equipment, transportation costs,
transporting equipment, planting equipment, controlled atmosphere storage, personnel, and total asset
investment generally.
ManufacturingUtilizing state-of-the-art technology, the patented process has been integrated into a fully automated
commercial propagation system for the production of nuclear stock minitubers. The commercial system
will develop potato plantlets from in vitro cuttings and maintain the growing plantlets during production of
the minitubers. Minitubers are harvested in 40-50 days depending upon variety and size requirements.
Following harvest, all tuber production will go through induced dormancy and storage for future sale to
seed stock producers, or for further multiplication to FG 1 (Field Generation 1) and FG 2 generations by
the Quantum Tubers system owner.
A commercial unit is based on utilizing a building of approximately 40,000 sq. ft., half of which is acontrolled environment area and the remainder is additional support facilities which would include office
space, lab facilities, open work area, cold storage, HVAC room, and an area for the water conditioning
and nutrient distribution system. Personnel requirements call for 20-24 full-time and 4-8 part-time
employees.
Lab facilities will require up-to-date laboratory equipment used for virus-free tissue culture production and
initial plantlet growth. Additional equipment will be required to test potato tissue and plantlets for known
viruses commonly found in potato stocks.
Following the growth cycle, minitubers would be harvested, hardened off and stored in cold storagenecessary to induce required dormancy prior to planting.
Space Science & Minitubers
Minitubers Produced In Space
While potato minitubers may not seem like rocket science, in fact, NASA (the
United States National Aeronautical & Space Administration) has becomeintimately involved with Quantum Tubers minituber technology development.
Through agreements with a NASA established space research center at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Wisconsin, Quantum Tubers Corporation has access to automated technologies suitable for growing
potato minitubers which have been developed for use in outer-space environments, were flight tested in
October 1995 during a launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia in its Microgravity Astroculture Laboratory,
and were most recently delivered for testing aboard the Russian space station MIR in January 1998.
Computerized controls of high-tech lighting systems, relative humidity, nutrient delivery, gas regulations, as
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well as monitoring and regulation of ambient systems are employed in the growth systems which have been
developed by Quantum Tubers and NASA for the minituber production BioChambers.
Conclusions & Summary
A significant market for minitubers exists within the world and the buyers are highly fractionated with no
clear production system available to service the market. The short-straw is that the technology needed forproducing minitubers in adequate quantities has heretofore, not been available to the marketplace,
therefore a new market segment is opened up by the presence of the Patented fast-growth minituber
technology being made available by Quantum Tubers Corporation.
Seed producers, end-users/manufacturers, seed certification agencies and tissue culture labs along with
commercial research companies, universities and even home gardeners will be dramatically affected by the
introduction of this technology into the seed potato production system.
With the advent of this more workable seed potato delivery system based upon a compact seed potato
with pathogen-free characteristics enabling seed to be transported legally and efficiently over longdistances, comes the ability to provide some degree of market control and possible market dominance for
the owner of this system. The new technology upon which the system is based has been proven at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison under the supervision of some of the leading authorities in the potato
world today. The technology for this system has a ready-made market in place, the market is anxious for
the product, and the product has been proven to work precisely as it is expected to work.
Purchase
Purchase of the minituber production system is available through the franchise licensing of productionrights, through Quantum Tubers Corporation.
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