Re: Hybridizing
- Subject: Re: [IGSROBIN] Hybridizing
- From: m* g*
- Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 08:17:00 -0600
["Cynthia S. Lohry"]
>I asked Jay Kapac (angel hybridizer) how he transferred the pollen on his
>plants and whether he agreed with the book I had read that using a paintbrush
>was the way to go. He said the problem with using a paintbrush was that not
>all the pollen would be transferred and that you ended up with "dirty sex" if
>you worked with more than the two plants and could not be sure what pollen
>was fertilizing which recipient. He uses a forceps to remove the entire
>pollen covered bits and then wipes them onto the other plant, discards the
>bits, and dips the forceps into alcohol and wipes it clean before going to
>the next plant.
That's what I've done with an ordinary eyebrow tweezers, taking a single
stamen and rubbing the anther against a chosen stigma. With a magnifying
glass you can see how much pollen you deposit there. You can use Q-tips to
do the same job but I prefer the tweezers method although it's as the
English say, 'fiddly'.
>
>Can someone refresh my memory ... what is the rule about whether it is the
>pollen-contributing plant or the seed-bearing plant that influences the color
>and size of the resulting offspring?
Is there such a rule? Doesn't seem to work that way with humans, but more
of a lottery. It would depend upon which parent contributes dominant
alleles.
Maria
