CULT: climate, genes & behavior
- To:
- Subject: CULT: climate, genes & behavior
- From: D* E*
- Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 18:41:24 -0600
From: "Donald Eaves" <donald@eastland.net>
Walter writes:
> Since your arilbreds are blooming now, Donald, maybe the
>bloom season in Texas is not so early as I thought it might be. My
>old Texas records show arilbreds blooming the second week in
>March during a 'normal' season like we had back in 1924, which,
>as you know, was the only 'normal' year ever recorded.
>
1924? I'm surprised it was so recent. I'm 1 1/2 - 2 weeks behind
what's happening in town just seven miles away. Micro-climate
conditions provided by the buildings? Jeff says the Utah bred irises
learn not to stick their noses out too early. Learned behavior?
Genetic disposition? Both? With our erratic spring weather patterns,
not to mention the other three seasons, that is probably too simple
an explanation. Suppose in a wonderful year with plentiful moisture,
mild spring weather without a late freeze, a hybridizer were to set
lots of seeds. Grown in Texas, what would they be likely to exhibit?
Or the reverse, a miserable, cold dry winter with a very warm January
through Feb, then a killer freeze on the buds. Still likely to have
some blooms = more pods. What would these plants exhibit? It
seems to me the combo of genes and adaptation inherent in the
plant would only show up on some plants, but not all, in either
scenario. Latent genes without adaptive abilities would seem likely
to exhibit their presence for some time in subsequent crosses. In
order to really isolate the beneficial ones it would seen one would
need to work with a relatively small gene pool and cull, cull, cull.
That is a scenario that seems unlikely, as it would need to be
focused too specifically at the expense of other goals. That is
why I tend to blame my cultivation practices rather than a plant
in general, I guess. What has been working successfully for me
for a while, isn't working altogether as well for many plants this year.
Yet others are thriving, even some which haven't performed all that
well before. I think I can't adjust my own learned behavior for what
works as fast as the climate conditions can change what really
works. Finding the balance, and the plants with a wider range of
adaptation, is why I'm working from an acquisition/attrition method
of ascertaining what I can grow consistantly.
Donald Eaves
donald@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7, USA where KIOSK only loosened the bud today, but
did not open.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GET A NEXTCARD VISA, in 30 seconds! Get rates as low as 2.9%
Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR and no hidden fees. Apply NOW!
http://click.egroups.com/1/936/0/_/486170/_/953080990/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
