This has become necessary, particularly in the developed countries, where the major part of the operational cost is due to labour. In India also at BARC, airlift bioreactors of 20 litre capacity have been fabricated and used for the production of several bioactive compounds.

In bioreactors, instead of a semi-solid agar medium, liquid culture media are used, which are prepared and replaced regularly through automatic devices in many cases. The growth conditions are also maintained automatically.

For micropropagation, the organogenic or embryogenic tissue is multiplied in bioreactors and transferred to a bioprocessor where propagules of different sizes are separated from each other. These propagules then grow and develop into plantlets in separate culture vessels, to be transplanted, stored or shipped.