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View Full Version : Manual banana pollination (basjoo mainly) and how to do it


Jack Daw
07-02-2009, 08:38 AM
As the topic's name suggests, I would like to hear your experience and/or expertise on this topic, mainly where to take pollen in the flower bud and where to put it to create a hybrid or clean variety.
I will have several basjoos (already have several as well) that are precisely the same age and adn height, so I am worried that thez might cross, if thez start flowering in the garden in precisely the same age. One of them is Rubra, the others are Sakhalin, normal basjoo and of course some yet again new variety that has no name.
Any help, any pics anything welcome. :D

Scot Nelson
07-02-2009, 02:07 PM
As the topic's name suggests, I would like to hear your experience and/or expertise on this topic, mainly where to take pollen in the flower bud and where to put it to create a hybrid or clean variety.
I will have several basjoos (already have several as well) that are precisely the same age and adn height, so I am worried that thez might cross, if thez start flowering in the garden in precisely the same age. One of them is Rubra, the others are Sakhalin, normal basjoo and of course some yet again new variety that has no name.
Any help, any pics anything welcome. :D


From this reference (http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/files/files/pdf/publications/info08.1_en.pdf#page=23):

"The pollen extracted from anthers in the morning is placed on the stigmas of the female flowers when they open."

Also:

Genetic Improvement of Banana (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x427118x915vk15w/)

Studies on Pollination in Musaceae (http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/2/167)

Experiments on the pollination of seeded diploid bananas (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x3t05501609765r4/)

You may need library access or subscriptions to retrieve some articles. Other references are available by searching in Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/schhp?tab=ms). You could also send e-mails to various banana breeders/experts.

Jack Daw
07-02-2009, 02:10 PM
From this reference (http://bananas.bioversityinternational.org/files/files/pdf/publications/info08.1_en.pdf#page=23):

"The pollen extracted from anthers in the morning is placed on the stigmas of the female flowers when they open."

Also:

Genetic Improvement of Banana (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x427118x915vk15w/)

Studies on Pollination in Musaceae (http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/2/167)

Experiments on the pollination of seeded diploid bananas (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x3t05501609765r4/)

You may need library access or subscriptions to retrieve some articles. Other references are available by searching in Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/schhp?tab=ms). You could also send e-mails to various banana breeders/experts.
Thank you so much, I tried that already, but didn't quite work for me.
I would need someone with acces to those articels to post them here for me. :D
I would really be very thankful, if you could help me in this way.

Scot Nelson
07-02-2009, 03:11 PM
Jack, I can't post copyrighted material here or send it to you by e-mail without permission from publishers.

However, here is a general summary of a pollination porcess used by some banana breeders:

Pollen is collected around 7:30 a.m. from male flowers previously covered with cotton bags at anthesis. This is done to prevent pollen contamination with other sources (due to insect, bat or other animals). Emerging female inflorescences are bagged with transparent plastic to avoid potential natural crossing with alien pollen. Hand pollinations are performed daily between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in freshly exposed female flowers by rubbing a cluster of male flowers onto the female flowers. Pollinated bunches are labeled with tags to indicate parents and pollination date.

All that you really have to do is to identify the male and female flowers and then act at the right time.

Jack Daw
07-02-2009, 03:15 PM
Jack, I can't post copyrighted material here or send it to you by e-mail without permission from publishers.

However, here is a general summary of a pollination porcess used by some banana breeders:

Pollen is collected around 7:30 a.m. from male flowers previously covered with cotton bags at anthesis. This is done to prevent pollen contamination with other sources (due to insect, bat or other animals). Emerging female inflorescences are bagged with transparent plastic to avoid potential natural crossing with alien pollen. Hand pollinations are performed daily between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in freshly exposed female flowers by rubbing a cluster of male flowers onto the female flowers. Pollinated bunches are labeled with tags to indicate parents and pollination date.

All that you really have to do is to identify the male and female flowers and then act at the right time.
Ok, will try, thanks. That also means, that if the male and female flowers are distanced, I have to cut the male flowers out and then rub them against females. :D
It might sound silly, but I've never been into this pollination thing, yet it seems important for me now. :D
Also, do you think that crosses of completely different basjoos might proe to be the same or comparable quality?
Rubra has a genetic marker for red Pstem and Sakhalin is said to be the hardiest of all basjoos, originating much more to north from Japanese islands...
Any ideas about that?
Btw thanks for the description, I will surely use it someday.

griphuz
07-03-2009, 04:30 AM
Hi Jack,
I am affraid that if rubra is what you refer to as basjoo rubra, has got nothing to do with basjoo, and therefore will nog cross...
This sems to be a TC mix-up from one of the TC labs and would be a tropical species.
On the other hand, won't hurt to try anyway.
Good luck,
Regards,
Remko.

Jack Daw
07-03-2009, 06:30 AM
Hi Jack,
I am affraid that if rubra is what you refer to as basjoo rubra, has got nothing to do with basjoo, and therefore will nog cross...
This sems to be a TC mix-up from one of the TC labs and would be a tropical species.
On the other hand, won't hurt to try anyway.
Good luck,
Regards,
Remko.
Will try. However when I compare the 2 species 'Rubra' and 'Sakhalin', they are completely the same regarding the leaf structure and even the P-stem. Yes, the color is different, but generally, the leaves are perfectly identical.
I don't know what its origin is, but I suspect it's not natural mutation as well. If however it's a TC mix up of something and basjoo, it will have very good, if not perfect cold resistance and thus I think it won't be as tender as tropical species.
We'll see, I will let you know later, when the colder weather hits us.

I don't know about that crossing, still, I think it's a useful topic for everyone. :D