breeding trichs.

[just-iz]

hi folk.

yeah i'm a new guy, to get that out of the way, but i have some questions that have been buggin' me and would love answers to.

although, yes, using the search tool i get clues here and there, but some corrections or confirmations would be awesome on these things:

- trichs can only form seed pods from the pollen of other seed grown trichs? (so not from the same clone?) - as well, i hear that backeberg cannot be crossed with backeberg, correct?

- when harvesting pollen, you can just store it in the fridge 'till the chosen partner flowers, right?

- if someone has a picture of a seed pod, i'd really appreciate it, so i can recognise it!

if i've missed something with search, by all means give me the holy newb-grilling, but share the link as well would ya

much appreciated guys!

-just-iz

[Ace]

Welcome mate

- trichs can only form seed pods from the pollen of other seed grown trichs? (so not from the same clone?) - as well, i hear that backeberg cannot be crossed with backeberg, correct?

Generally most trich are self fertile (AFAIK), meaning that they can breed with themselves. I think it is really a matter of trying each in your collection to find which are self fertile. Note that generally speaking, crosses tend to produce much better offspring as they contain new genetics, some taking the best from both parents.

You are correct in that the backeberg (or predominant cultivar) pachanoi is self sterile, meaning it needs to be crossed with a different clone/species.

- when harvesting pollen, you can just store it in the fridge 'till the chosen partner flowers, right?

Yep, cotton buds (ear cleaner things) are usually a good tool for collecting pollen and dont degrade/rot in the fridge (opposed to just collecting stamens).

The seed pods look like big balls (fruits) that form from the old pollinated flowers. On Trichs they look like big green balls around the size of a kiwi/orange and are usually covered in black hairs. Sorry, no pic handy ATM.

Edit: drawings of a few different species (some illustrating fruits) can be found here. I cant seem to find any trich fruit photos atm though...

Edited July 30, 2008 by Ace

[just-iz]

awesome mate, that cleared up everything.

thanks

[Inyan]

Many dry the pollen and then store the pollen in the freezer. Protect from light and moisture and you will have viable pollen for your next exploits.

[Garbage]

Like this?

[Inyan]

The important thing to realize is that different pollens have different life expectancies given different conditions. Some pollens are only viable for a day if kept out in the open. Others last longer. When in doubt, dry and freeze as soon as possible.

[Chiral]

Rather than start a new thread on this topic I was wondering Inyan if you mind me asking the crew here to explain the whole pollination and cross breeding process when done by hand in the Garden. I know PD prolly has good knowledge about this as do some other growers here..cactus heads come out of hiding and show us how its done, some pics to show stamens and pollen collection would be cool too...but I'm sure that's quiet difficult seeing the short flowering time.

H.

[Inyan]

This would be one approach to the grafted style method or cut style method. The difference between the two is whether you actually join a different style or merely make a cut to apply your pollen closer to the ovary. More pictures to follow. The cut is made in this particular variation well below the stigma which is where you would apply your pollen. Sorry for not using a cactus flower, but you use what you have available for teaching purposes.

[Auxin]

What in the

I would not have thought that would work! Your obviously doing the style cut pollination and style grafting, um, transpolination (?) to out run the wild or self pollen that may have already got on the female parent but just what time frame do you actually have to work with? How long after flower opening/wild pollination can this be done with reliable success?

When crossing peppers that had the annoying trait of self pollinating the instant of flower opening, or even hours before, I just surgically removed the petals and all male bits of a unopened flower that was nearly ready but had not begun releasing pollen and then I pollinated the remaining naked girly bits with the desired male parents pollen. I had always assumed cacti breeders did similar when needed. Are there particular advantages to the style cut/graft procedure over a immature castration procedure like the one I use for peppers?

[Chiral]

How do you collect the pollen from male flowers and pollinate the female...start from scratch and explain please...all my growing in the past has been purely with females and have not had anything to do with males and manual pollination of females...

H.

[Garbage]

I read elsewhere about bypaasing the stigma and injecting the pollen directly into the style.

A small cut is all it takes,a steady hand and a good eye for slow growers.

[Inyan]

Pollen can be shipped in the containers you see below. However, always dry your pollen out for at least 1 hour before freezing or shipping. You can remove the anthers just before they dehisce and allow the pollen to fall out or scrape it out of the anthers as well. With smaller anthers, you can place them directly into the microcentrifuge tubes and tap them about to dust the tubes. Pour the anthers into another tube and dust again. Then discard the anthers or pollinate with them.

http://www.usascientific.com/index.asp?Cat...Action=VIEWCATS

You don't have to be particularly fancy guys and gals. You can simply cut the offending stigma with its barriers to reception off and pollinate the stigma directly, but do so in a fast motion as the cut style may dry out and become unreceptive if your unduly slow with this procedure. Also, remember that other barriers may exist. Just a few more tools for those of you who may wish to try such an endeavor. Remember, in some ways, pollen is just like a seed. It needs to reabsorb sufficient fluid once it is dried out so creating a humid environment for the first hour of pollination sometimes helps to get things started. With that said, some particularly difficult crosses will still abort their seed pods and you will be lucky to find a few immature seeds which may or may not be able to be nurtured. Immature seeds have a tendency to dry out much faster than their mature counterparts, so again... keep the humidity up.

To answer a few of the questions posed: You should still emasculate the flower before the pollen has matured. How much time you have to play with depends on the speed of growth of the pollen which varies depending on whether you are using old dry and frozen pollen or freshly collected pollen. Temperatures also play a role in how fast the pollen tube grows. Etc. etc. The idea behind the grafted style is to allow the receptors of the "proper" stigma to allow or trigger the appropriate pollen to fertilize and then jump the graft to the inappropriate or less compatible style. With the cut style method, you are still working with an emasculated flower, but you are bypassing the need for a stigma altogether which can also be done with many crosses. Another method is to make a solution of the pollen and simply inject this solution directly into the ovary. It works sometimes, but you will need to poke the needle straight through the ovary and then pull back to insert the liquid pollen mixture into the ovary. When you see the liquid oozing out the sides you know you have some pollen grains inside your ovary. Sometimes a barrier is associated with the simple distance the pollen has to travel. As a general rule of thumb, you shorten the style to the same length or shorter as the style length of the pollen donor otherwise you risk the pollen simply not being able to make it to the ovary.

Edited December 20, 2008 by Inyan

[bit]

Hell, I've had success this year with a simple cotton bud / que tip. Brush it through the pollen bits, and transfer the pollen to the receptical bit. It's not too difficult (although my attempt at the same last year failed).

I've got fruit starting to form at the moment :D

[Inyan]

Bit,

How else would you get the pollen out of these containers? Paint brush, or Q-tip are the most common ways. Of course, some will simply insert the stigma or cut style into this type of container. Still, if you don't care about size, film canisters, etc. can be utilized for storing pollen as well. Those that hybridize on a large scale need multiple containers that they can label and store pollen in. If you don't have a particular flower blooming, you simply go to your freezer and pull out the pollen you need. These are your personal pollen banks and some hybridizers amateur or not will share pollen from their banks with others or trade pollen. Others prefer to keep their private stash of pollen to themselves fearing degradation of the pollen as it is transported via mail. Still, if you have the anther from a fresh flower you don't need a q-tip. You can simply take that anther and brush it on the stigma of the mom to be. For a single fruit or a small scale operation you don't need much, but for those more serious about their hybridizing they will often store hundreds of different pollens in such small containers as this. You label the containers meticulously keeping track of the date the pollen was collected, which cacti it came from... not just the species. Permanent markers, sharpies, etc. work well for this. I'm glad you have fruit forming and any fruit is better than no fruit. Something else serious hybridizers do is to label the individual flowers that have been pollinated with the cross made. Some will keep a tag in the pot itself and only make one particular cross at a time. Its all up to the hybridizer as to how serious and meticulous they wish to get about their hybridizing and what goals they are after. If your only goal is to get a seed pod, heck, let the insects do it. If you don't protect the blooms then you can't really be sure that the flower is or was created by your attempts. Sure, you might have brushed some pollen on your flower. Did another insect, wind, etc. help before hand? If enough pollen was transfered prior to your attempts you didn't really do anything at all. Another reason why emasculating the flower is a good idea. Bagging the flower or the entire plant is another practice to ensure that your attempts are the ones that count. Still, others will pollinate the pistil while it is still immature and developing to get a jump on things. If your after a red flower and you cross your two darkest pinks together in hopes of getting a darker pink or red and an insect pollinated with a simple light pink or white... you've just wasted your efforts. I can't count the number of seed pods insects have beaten me to in the past. Pollinate early, take good notes, use what you have blooming or stored, but go after your goals and don't limit yourself to what you have blooming at the moment or you may never achieve your goals.

[George]

Found this on http://www.cactus-seeds.com/Articles/Growing.html

Don't know if this might also be worth looking at, especially it's use on altering flower sex and also to make fruit self sterile like that pepper problem there.

I tried fertilizing scop with opuntia this year to just see if the pollen would maybe deplete the inhibitory action. Didn't work.

Gibberellic Acid for Fruit Set and Seed Germination

John M. Riley

The following information is taken from a article by John M. Riley that appeared in the 1987 CRFG Journal (vol. 19, pp. 10-12). See the back issue information for price and ordering information.

The Germination Process

The first stage of germination consists of ingesting water and an awakening or activation of the germ plasma. Protein components of the cells that were formed as the seed developed, became inactive as it matured. After an uptake of water, the system is reactivated and protein synthesis resumes. Enzymes and hormones appear and begin to digest reserve substances in the storage tissues and to translocate the digested substances in the storage tissues to the growing points of the embryo. The sequence of the metabolic pattern than occurs during germination involves the activation of specific enzymes at the proper time and regulation of their activity.

Control is exercised by four classes of plant hormones: inhibitors such as abscissic acid which block germination; auxins which control root formation and growth; the gibberellins which regulate protein synthesis and stem elongation; and cytokinins that control organ differentiation. Ethylene is also believed to have a control function in some plants. Sometimes the last three controls are used together to crash through dormancy in germinating difficult seed.

Gibberellic Acid

Gibberellic acid (actually a group of related substances called gibberellins) was discovered as a metabolic byproduct of the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi, which causes the stems of growing rice to elongate so rapidly the plant collapsed. Synthetic forms of gibberellic acid are available commercially.

Gibberellic acid (GA) is a very potent hormone whose natural occurrence in plants controls their development. Since GA regulates growth, applications of very low concentrations can have a profound effect. Timing is critical: too much GA may have an opposite effect from that desired; too little may require the plant to be repeatedly treated to sustain desired levels of GA.

Effects of Gibberellic Acid

Overcoming dormancy. Treatment with high concentrations of GA is effective in overcoming dormancy and causing rapid germination of seed. Concentrations of about 2 ppm can cause tubers to sprout earlier.

Premature flowering. If a plant is sufficiently developed, premature flowering may be induced by direct application of GA to young plants. This action is not sustained and treatment may have to be repeated. Formation of male flowers is generally promoted by concentrations of 10 to 200 ppm., female flowers by concentrations of 200 to 300 ppm. Concentrations of more than 600 ppm markedly suppresses initiation of both male and female flowers.

Increased fruit set. When there is difficulty with fruit set because of incomplete pollination, GA may be effectively used to increase fruit set. The resulting fruit maybe partially or entirely seedless. GA has increased the total yield in greenhouse tomato crops both as a result of increased fruit set and more rapid growth of the fruit.

Hybridizing. Pollination within self-incompatible clones and between closely related species may some times be forced by the application of GA and cytokinin to the blooms at the time of hand pollination.

Increased growth. GA applied near the terminal bud of trees may increase the rate of growth by stimulating more or less constant growth during the season. In a Department of Agriculture experiment, the GA was applied as a 1% paste in a band around the terminal bud of trees. Treatment was repeated three times during the summer. Walnut tee growth was 8.5 ft. for treated trees, 1.5 ft. for untreated trees.

Frost protection. Spraying fruit trees at full-blossom or when the blossoms begin to wither can offset the detrimental effects of frost.

Root formation. GA inhibits the formation of roots in cuttings.

Recipes

Although GA is not listed as a "poison", the following precautions should be observed: Flush with water any GA that may get into the eye. Avoid skin contact if possible. If skin contact is suspected, wash with soap and water. Do not re-enter an area after spraying until the GA spray is fully dry. Avoid ingestion of GA.

The powder may be dissolved as specified below to give the desired concentration.

Concentration

parts/million

GA

mg

Water

ml (cup)

Purpose

50

125

2400 (10 1/2)

Early flowering

200

125

600 (2 1/2)

Early flowering

800

125

160 (2/3)

Blossom set

2000

125

60 (1/4)

Seed germination

1% paste

125

5 ml (1 tsp.) lanolin

Growth promoter

[Inyan]

Good post George. GA3 can also be utilized to increase the size of your flowers as well. Again, timing is critical and something that has to be experimented with as different plants react differently. Its the same as saying your chemistry is different from a cacti or a psychotria really. You can't expect to get the exact same results as each system is different. I've had fun playing with GA3 in the past as well.

A good resource for some of you.

http://www.super-grow.biz/PPM.jsp