How do I stabilize a possible hybrid?
Microphobik
11 years ago
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lee_71
11 years agoMicrophobik
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Okay, so I'm new... how do I Hybridize?
Comments (6)You might start with African violets. They have a long and complex hybridization history, so crossing any two varieties is likely to give you lots of seedlings with considerable variation. Some offspring may throw back to wilder types with what are considered undesirable characteristics (e.g., dropping flower petals after only a couple of days), but others will surprise you. I assume you have a diagram showing the reproductive parts of the flowers and can get pollen to the stigma. African violets have pollen sacs that often have to be cut open with a fine and sharp knife blade to get the pollen out. Once you have delivered pollen from one plant to the stigma of another, the ovary will swell up fairly dramatically. Wait a couple of months, and the ovary will turn brown and begin to split open. Harvest the abundant, dust-like seeds and set aside for a few days to let them dry. Then sow them at the surface of African violet mix and keep continuously moist till seemingly thousands of tiny seedlings appear. I keep the seedbed in a Zip-Loc or similar sealed plastic bag till I see sprouts and then prick out some of the plants for trnasplantation, as many as I can make room for. Keeping the seedlings in the bag after they sprout can lead to rot, so I remove them into the air and set them in a bright location out of direct sun. A north window is ideal. Growing garden hybrids is trickier. Many cultivated plants from the local Home Depot or seeds from the large seed companies have been hybridized to produce the large, showy flowers many gardeners seek out. Many of these varieties will revert to a much less attractive wild type if hybridized. You could experiment with crossing different types and colors of petunia to start, since they are easy to cross and produce a lot of seeds quickly. From seed to blooming adult can take just eight weeks or less if you care for the seedlings properly. Give it all a try. I hybridize a type of succulent plant called Haworthia from South Africa and get some very cool plants when I achieve a successful cross between two different species. biosparite...See MoreHow to tell if a plant, or Seeds are hybrids or non-hybrid?
Comments (6)was wanting to dry some seeds, mostly sweet-corn but possibly also some haricot vert green beans. I'm wondering how I can tell from the original packaging if they are non-hybrids and therefore will product the same plant. If the package says "open pollinated " they are probably not hybrids . I suppose my other considerations are if I grew any compatible but different plants in the nearby area since pollination would generate a naturally hybridized seed correct? 2) separate the varieties by rows of tall sunflowers on all sides can cut down on accidental hybridization . Is it possible to buy sweet-corn from a farmer's market and know or have a good confidence that you could dry the seeds and produce the same crop next year? 3) if you pick the overripe ears ,dry them completely ,store them in a tight jar so the bugs won't get at them you have a good chance . I have done it . do not let them get moldy however....See MoreAnyone know how to do somatic hybridization?
Comments (15)MacDaddy, "My idea was to cross very cold hardy runner called P. Nuda with P. Henon, P. edulis, and P. Vivax. The idea being to get a very hardy giant bamboo." Sounds like a good idea. "Somatic hybrids don't always work out. I got the idea myself when I found out about polyployed daylilies. The main problem with cross species hybrids like mules is they are infertile because the chromosome numbers and kinds don't match. That wouldn't be a problem if one could only join the nucleuses of two species somatically." As a kid I ran into a similar problem with zinnias. Crossing diploids with tetraploids was difficult and yielded sterile triploids. I had some colchicine, but was unable to double a triploid to a fertile hexaploid. I think it should have been possible. But of course, you can't just keep solving sterility problems by doubling the chromosomes. You get an "unhealthy" large number of chromosomes in your genetic product. All living things seem to have a chromosome number that falls within a relatively limited range. There must be some kind of "survivability barrier" that prevents inordinately high chromosome numbers. As I see it, somatic hybridization is just a kind of "low tech" genetic engineering. The "big boys" just insert a microprobe into a cell and squirt in the genetic material they want there. I always wanted to cross zinnias and marigolds because zinnias had more colors and marigolds had better foliage. I tried a lot of cross pollinations, both ways, with no success. Maybe we both need microscopes and some of those micropipettes. Although many people would be very nervous, probably rightfully so, if a bunch of amateur genetic engineers learned the tricks of the trade. But lay people are starting to learn to do tissue cultures. -- Burton --...See MoreJust how do you get hybrid seeds?
Comments (8)Thank you all for your responses. I've read through the majority of links provided and learned quite a lot. I did a search and found another article, "Hybrid Seed Production of a Tomato" (link below). This article states "Both parents should be pure, being self-pollinated for more than 6 generations (this is called inbreeding). Parents are selected for their desirable traits (high yields, disease resistance, fruit quality, earliness, etc." Does the self-pollination for more than 6 generations result in a genetically identical variety? So that when crossed with another "pure" variety, it can be relied upon to produce a different variety 100% of the time??? Trying to reconcile probability. Guess I need to go back and review my genetics book from many years ago. I AM starting to realize the years and hard work that go into hybridizing a new variety. I think I will gladly pay the increased price if I choose to grow a hybrid tomato (think Sungold). http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mukeshkarnwal-1732869-hybrid-seed-production-tomato/ This post was edited by amerique2 on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 2:57...See Morecarolyn137
11 years agoMicrophobik
11 years agocarolyn137
11 years agoJohn A
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11 years agoJohn A
11 years agoMicrophobik
11 years agocapsicummaximum
11 years agoABlindHog
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9 years agoMicrophobik
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