Re: Pollen collection

On Mon, Apr 26, 1999 at 11:06:41PM -0700, Harold Eddleman Ph.D. wrote:

>   The main reason for absence of pollen is that bees and wasps carry it
> away for food very early in the day. Therefore, plant breeders common
> collect pollen before the anthers split open. If you examine anthers
> (the yellow things dangling on the tips of filaments) in most plant
> species, you find the anthers split open after dawn and about the time
> the bees begin working (the bees know the right time). 
>   Therefore, plant breeders commonly cut the male flower off before it
> opens and carry it to the lab or living room where it is warm and dry. I
> plan to try cutting the male flowers from the vine the evening before
> they open.  I place them in petri dishes or saucers and some breeders
> hang a light bulb above the drying male flowers.

I use a technique from Suzanne Ashworth's excellent book "Seed to Seed"
which I find to be less work.  The evening before I pollinate, at about
dusk, I go through my pumpkins, and use masking tape to tape shut the male
and female blossoms I want to use.  A single loop of masking tape around
the petals keeps them from opening.  In the morning, whenever I feel like
it, I go to the patch and collect the male flowers that I taped shut the
night before.  I take them to the female flower I wish to pollinate, and
use a pocket knife to cut off the male flower petals at the base, and as
little of the female petals as I can.  I apply the pollen directly using
the stem of the male flower as a handle (or several male flowers if they
are available) then tape the female flower shut again so bees can't get in
to contaminate the pollen I have chosen with unknown pollen.  I always
find loads and loads of pollen in the male flowers and it is fresh.

Shaun

-- 
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

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index