HYB: The Toothpick Thing
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: HYB: The Toothpick Thing
- From: S* M* <7*@CompuServe.COM>
- Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997 07:31:36 -0700 (MST)
Dave SIlverberg wrote:
: Please, EVERYONE, do not use the toothpick method for hybridizing,
: UNLESS you use a new toothpick each & every time.
Thanks, Dave, for spelling this out. I've been doing this so long that it
didn't occur to me someone might re-use one. Although I hadn't heard about the
health hazards you mentioned, I was taught NEVER to just clean a toothpick in my
mouth and reuse it because saliva doesn't kill pollen immediately and it could
contaminate the next cross. Ironically, it was a doctor who suggested the
minute amounts of iris pollen I might ingest while hybridizing were probably
good for me. I do apologize for including Gene Hunt's comment about the
protein content of pollen, though -- without cleary indicating it was a joke.
Gene was known for not wasting a single grain of pollen.
Anyway, here's the detailed procedure for the cautious hybridizer:
1. Outfit a tool kit (mine is a large tackle box) with clean condiment cups
& lids, several sets of tweezers, indelible markers, masking tape, tags -- and
a box of toothpicks.
2. Harvest the anthers with tweezers, place them in a CLEAN condiment cup,
write the name or number on a piece of masking tape and stick it on the cup.
3. Take a new toothpick out of the box, moisten it with saliva if necessary,
then use it to transfer the pollen from the harvested anther to the stigmatic
lip.
After the first cross, the toothpick is moist enough to pick up more pollen, dry
enough to store safely in the pollen cup -- at least long enough to tag each
cross. I normally continue working with that cup until I run out of pollen or
flowers to put it on. Then DISCARD the toothpick. There are better ways to
save money and the environment than recycling toothpicks!
Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com