Plant propagation, meristem culture, somatic embryogenesis (see Chap. 7)In this approach, mostly isolated primary or secondary shoot meristems (shootapex, axillary buds) are induced to shoot under aseptic conditions. Generally, thisoccurs without an interfering callus phase, and after rooting, the plantlets can beisolated and transplanted into soil. Thereby, highly valuable single plants—e.g., ahybrid—can be propagated. The main application, however, is in horticulture formass propagation of clones for the commercial market, another being the productionof virus-free plants. Thus, this technique has received a broad interest in horticulture,and also in silviculture as a major means of propagation.