Re: HYB: I. tectorum X TB

Linda and Will,
Some people might like to keep their plans secret, for
fear that someone will "beat them to it". But as much
as I'd like to come up with some more tectorum X
beardeds, I'd enjoy just as much, seeing you guys do
it. So, at the risk of "boring to sleep" the rest of
the iris-talk forum, I'd like to share some ideas with
you guys.

Ultimately, in my vision of the future, I see a
"fertile family" of [amphidiploid] tectorum X
beardeds, analogous to the Standard Dwarf Bearded
group. These would have a full diploid set of
chromosomes from each parent type -- 24 (12 pairs)
from bearded, and 28 (14 pairs) from tectorum. These
52 chromosome irises could be interbred, but could
also be backcrossed to the parental types to get two
other kinds of relatively infertile (or sterile)
groups. This would be analogous to SDB's being crossed
back with TB's to get IB's, or being crossed back with
Iris pumila to get MDB's. A whole range of types could
be produced, from full Iris tectorum to full bearded.
To get the 52 chromosome "fertile family" started, or
to expand on it (once began), I've considered several
strategies.

Originally, I had focused my energies, on crossing
diploid tectorum with diploid bearded. This would most
likely produce hybrids like 'Paltec' with 26
chromosomes (12 from bearded, 14 from tectorum). These
would be relatively sterile, but could be induced to
double their chromosome number (with colchicine, or by
other method) to produce the 52 chromosome
amphidiploid type. Once one 52 chromosome hybrid is
produced, it could be used with the existing 26
chromosome hybrids to get more 52 chromosome types (by
making use of occassional unreduced gametes).

Another possible route to the 52 chromosome
amphidiploid, would be what you guys and I are
attempting, using tetraploid bearded pollen on diploid
tectorum. It should be possible to get an ocassional
(28 chromosome) unreduced tectorum ovule to combine
with the (24 chromosome) bearded pollen. Let's keep
our fingers crossed that at least one of our probable
balloon pods is ripening such a seed as we speak. 

The most direct route to production of 52 chromosome
amphidiploids would be by combination of tetraploid
tall bearded with tetraploid tectorum. I think this
may be the key to rapid expansion of the group.
Unfortunately, I know of no current sources of a
tetraploid tectorum. I do have some tectorum seeds
earmarked for conversion attempts, but haven't gotten
the chance to try it out yet.

So, don't give up guys - we can do this. We just need
to be stubborn and plow ahead through all of the
aborted and balloon pods. They'll just make the
successes that much more enjoyable. And imagine all
the interesting possibilities....

space-age / tectorum combinations... interesting
leopard-spotted color patterns... shade, insect and
disease tolerance... complex combinations of tectorum
hybrids with arilbreds or SDBs... and who knows what
else

Looking forward to hearing about some seeds, Tom
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index