Re: Hybridization Techniques
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: Re: Hybridization Techniques
- From: C*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 07:45:25 -0400
In a message dated 96-05-28 13:28:23 EDT, Tom Tadfor Little wrote....
>Most hybridizers do not protect bearded iris crosses at all. Not many
>blooms will set seed from natural pollination; chances are very good that
>if you get to the bloom early with lots of pollen, all the seeds that
>result will be from the pollen you applied.
>
>However, contamination is still possible, particularly if the pollen you
>apply is not very effective for some reason (a wide cross, old pollen,
>sparse pollen, etc.). I'd guess that maybe 1 in 100 published parentages
>is in error because of contamination.
True for bearded crosses, Tom....but beardless iris crosses, e.g. Siberian,
Japanese, versicolor, spuria, LA etc....must be protected. Most breeders of
these irises select a bud soon to open and put a bag over it, tied with a
plastic twist. When flower is open, they put pollen on it, remove falls and
put bag back on until ovary swells. Some even protect the pollen by
selecting pollen parent while in bud, and bagging it too. Clarence Mahan in
VA
