The time that it takes for a freshly inoculated agar culture to develop visible colonies is principally governed by that species'generation time.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The generation time of a species is the time it takes for one cell to divide into two cells, and it is closely related to the growth rate of that species. The faster a species can divide and grow, the faster it will produce visible colonies on an agar plate. Therefore, the time it takes for a freshly inoculated agar culture to develop visible colonies is largely determined by the generation time of the species being cultured.

The Time That It Takes for a Freshly Inoculated Agar