Re: Re: CULT: rot avoidance vs rot management (was aspects of rot)

Linda,


>from inbred lines that dont' have a lot of supertough components.

I'm not sure about this.  Inbred lines in cattle, nearly always obtained by
using superior parents, still result in a large portion of the offspring
lacking in vigor and vitality.  For all their higher maintenance, their own
offspring, when used with an outcross, quite often result in cattle superior
to the strong grandparents used initially.  I know there are differences
between cattle and irises, but I think this aspect is rather one of stacking
genetics.  The purer the stacked genetics, the easier and more likely it is
to select a parent that gives a 'nicking' cross.  A 'nicking' cross is one
that results in offspring that adds up to somewhat more than one could
reasonably expect just looking at the ancestors.  More of everything, sort
of.  An inbred or linebred iris should work the same way because you have
stacked the gene pool and thus are working with fewer unknowns.  Stacking
that gene pool fixes traits or characteristics you want, sometimes at the
expense of vigor.  When the correct parent is used/found, though, the
subsequent result is the desirable traits are incorporated into the
offspring, often exhibiting the desirable characteristics wanted as well.
Locating iris ancestors that do well, and then show up often in the pedigree
of a plant that lacks vigor, still might be a good choice to cross with
descendants of another of similar makeup.  The result might be much strong
and better than the immediate parents would indicate.  'Course, you have to
keep those lacking in vitality alive and producing in order to get the
offspring.

In any case, inbred or linebred parents are nearly always good to work with.
The results you get are likely to give you more information because you
aren't working with as many unknowns.  It's easier to guess about what may
be working or not when you see the results.  Like working with purely
dominant or purely recessive traits, some of the guesswork is reduced.

Donald Eaves
donald@eastland.net
Texas Zone 7b, USA



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