RE: Making hosta tetraploids with Surflan (or colchicine, or any other cytosketal disruptor)
- To: "'hosta-open@mallorn.com'" <hosta-open@mallorn.com>
- Subject: RE: Making hosta tetraploids with Surflan (or colchicine, or any other cytosketal disruptor)
- From: R* G* <r*@centrelab.com>
- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 08:23:48 -0500
> Are you growing any seedlings this year?
I assume you mean hosta seedlings. Yes, but only a few. I do not intend to
treat the seeds --- although this is common practice in seed-produced crops,
hostas show too much variation from seed. I chose to work out the details
for doubling existing selections, rather than sorting out the seedlings.
> Is Treflan the same as Surflan ?
Same or similar mechanism of action, different compounds (chemical
structure). Treflan = trifluralin; Surflan = oryzalin. The molecules are
related in structure (both are substituted 2,6-dinitroanilines) which
probably explains the similar modes of action. The hem people prefer
Surflan over Treflan.
Right now, I'm still old school. I prefer colchicine. The danger is in
colchicine's toxicity and water-solubility. Surflan's lack of
water-solubility is part of the reason for its decreased toxicity (at least
when compared to colchicine). Regardless, use any of these with extreme
caution, and at your own risk. If you are not familiar with routine
chemical safety, DON'T USE THEM!
Rick Grazzini
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE HOSTA-OPEN
