Biotechnology Application for the Improvement of Nigeria’s Indigenous Tree Species: The Challenges of Micropropagation

Nigeria is blessed with many indigenous tree species, which spread across the vegetation in its territory. These tree species provide food, fuel, employment and herbal medicine to the population. Uncollected and uncharacterized germplasm, pests and diseases, seed dormancy are some of the factors that militate against the improvement of indigenous tree species. This paper discusses biotechnological application challenges as it affects in tropical tree species improvement. The problems encountered in the application were classified into Biotechnology factors (asepsis, culture environment, and culture medium) and the micropropagation factors (lack of infrastructure, poor explant, poor power supply etc). Recommendations were suggested on how to overcome these challenges.