Re: Parentages
On Sat, Apr 10, 1999 at 04:35:07AM +0000, Alan & Sharon Eaton wrote:
> Re the 832 Bruce 97,I know that he told some that it was open pollinated
> and some that it was self pollinated.He told me he did not hand pollinate,
> but that the male was the 935 Lloyd 96.I think he also said that he grew
> only the 935 Lloyd and there were no other possible pollinators in the area.
>
> His reasoning for this was that bees don't visit a flower then jump up and
> fly a great distance,unless they are taking pollen home.Normally they just
> visit the next flower.So he reasoned the male was from the same plant.This
> sounded to me like the most probable case.On reflection I think it should
> have been classed as open.
Yes. I'm a beekeeper, and most if not all pollen mixing occurs in the hive
where the pollen is being handled, rather than by individual bees out in the
field. Without this feature honeybees would be almost useless as pollinators
of fruit and nut crops, since most varieties are self-sterile, and individual
bees exhibit "flower fidelity"--a strong tendency to visit the same kind of
flower over and over again to the point of concentrating on one variety in
a species. The male parent of the 935 Lloyd could be any other c. maxima
within eight miles of the plant, but the probability drops off rapidly as
the distance increases.
Shaun in Spokane
--
Poor animals! How jealously they guard their pathetic bodies.. that which to
us is merely an evening's meal, but to them is life itself. -T. Casey Brennan
polaris@wolfenet.com ++ PGP email welcome
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