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Main Banana Discussion This is where we discuss our banana collections; tips on growing bananas, tips on harvesting bananas, sharing our banana photos and stories.


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Old 02-22-2013, 09:46 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Default How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

Hi,

I will try to cross bananas in Brazil and to start the breeding program "Cold Hardy Fruit Banana". Formerly I bred rhododendrons and crossed different species and cultivars together successfully. I got also pollen from different rare rhododendron crosses and species to cross with my rhododendrons in Germany Hamburg and stored them deep frozen in my refrigerator, the pollen stayed viable, even still after years. Can I also store banana pollen deep frozen for months and years so that they will stay viable and the crossing trials will be successful? I will use Musa basjoo, Musa yunnanensis, Musa thomsonii, Musa ornata and Musa ornata x velutina Anestor as mother plants and dessert banana cultivars as pollinators. I will start my banana breeding programm with trial crosses with Musa ornata and Musa Anestor at my pond. There is also one question, how to store pollen for months and years, because many banana species and cultivars are not flowering at the same time.

Is there anyone who has stored banana pollen for months and years deep frozen and then used them successfully and got ripen fruits full of viable seeds?

I read about one successful cross between Musa Mysore and Musa basjoo, Mysore was the mother plant and Musa basjoo the pollinator, only 10 seeds in 10 bunches and 5 germinated, this cross was made about 80 years ago. I will renew this cross on the opposite way, Musa basjoo as mother plant and Mysore as pollinator, like the cross Musa acuminata ssp. sumatrana syn. zebrina x Grand Nain. Grand Nain was the pollinator, and the fruits of the cross are parthenocarpic like the dad and the leaves like the mother, but the fruits are not as tasty as Grand Nain, but also seedless. The cross Musa basjoo x Mysore will also be the same, but as hardy as the mom basjoo. I hope that the fruits of my Musa basjoo in Brazil will have much more seeds after pollinating by Mysore pollen than the fruits of Mysore after pollinating by basjoo pollen about 80 years ago.

I read there in the past about failed cross trials Saba x Musa basjoo and Orinoco x Musa basjoo, this is not one good way, Saba and Orinoco are parthenocarpic and do seldom form seeds after cross trials. Why not try one opposite way, so Musa basjoo x Orinoco and Musa basjoo x Saba, this might be more successful?

Best wishes
Joachim
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Old 02-24-2013, 02:03 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Question Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

Does anyone know how to store banana pollen for years? Is there anyone paper about storing of banana pollen for long time before pollinating? Storing in the refrigerator sufficent?

Best wishes
Joachim
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Old 02-24-2013, 04:10 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

No idea. But i really hope you have success!
Question: why you didin't started with some seeded acuminata/balbisiana? There are some from souther china that are quite cold hardy, as some anecdotes state.

BTW i also would think to musa senoriat/veinte cohol as parents. In colder climate isn't just the absolute hardines that matters, but also the time needed to mature the bunch. Also, probably height is an issue and smaller plants would be less prone to wind chill damage.
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Old 02-24-2013, 06:08 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

What is true for storing pollen in general is that you need to keep it dry and cool. So a good start point would be enclosing freshly collected pollen in paper envelopes and placing in a dessicator box,containing a desiccating substance such as silica gel or calcium chloride,and placing it all in the vegetable compartment of the fridge. Once a week or possibly more,passes,the paper envelops could be placed in a smaller airtight container with air of very low humidity and stored in the vegetable compartment of the fridge. This usually works for tropical plant pollen in general and should be good for at least some months to a year or more. Storing in deep freeze is generally practiced for longer pollen storage in cycads but I don't know if banana pollen or pollen of other tropical plants can take that and still be good. I will try searching a book I have on Banana Breeding and see if I can find something specific on banana pollen storage. Hopefully Gabe will see it and chime in with first information!

Wish you success in your quest and banana breedings!
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Old 02-24-2013, 07:33 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Default Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

@Pancrazio - Veinte Cohol might be good as pollinator for the basjoo and yunnanensis, because parthenocarpic. But there is one problem to get Veinte Cohol to Brazil because of the Brazilian restricted import law, only Paraguay, Costa Rica, Argentina and Israel are permited to import banana plants and rhizomes to Brazil. In 2008 I tried apply after purchasing my chácara (one manson with large yard or one small farm, in Spain also called finca) in Brazil one import permit for my bananas from Germany from the Brazilian agricultural ministery, I also wanted to order banana plants from the USA and Thailand for my chácara in Brazil, but the ministery refused my apply and told me that I should also contact EMBRAPA. But I got also in touch with Helton from Frutas Raras (now Colecionando Frutas) and he was very helpful, so that I could send him seeds from wild bananas, Musa balbisiana, microcarpa, itinrans Indian Form, yunnanensis, sikkimensis etc., he could grow them from seeds and gave me the pups. And also Rajapuri might be good because of quickly fruiting after 9 months, but also very difficulty to get one to Brazil. Therefore I will also use Prata Ana or Pratinha alias Dwarf Brazilian as pollinator.

@Kostas, yes, it might be. I will also make banana pollen storage trials. If Mysore does flower in November after my return to Brazil, and Musa basjoo still too small and inmature plant and Musa Anestor or ornata also at this time still not flowering, then I will cut the male part from the inflorescense of Musa Mysore or Nanicao and try to store the pollen to pollinate Anestor or ornata later and also inform my housekeeper (caseiro) Antonio how to do in the time during my working period in Germany. If you do find the book about breeding bananas, then you could scan it and send me as PDF files, but please in English, German or Portuguese/Brazilian, I do not speak Greek. I also hope, that Gabe15 will also reply here and explain me. I know, that some crosses will fail and other crosses will be successful, this is the same like the rhododendrons in the past in my old garden in Germany.

Best wishes
Joachim
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:00 PM   #6 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

Cutting the male part of the inflorescence would not work for pollen storage as you would only get 1-2 rows of male flowers mature enough to have viable pollen,all the rest of the developing flowers do not have viable pollen and would be wasted. The way to go for collecting the most pollen would be to cut and collect the anthers a little after the flowers open each day and continue doing that for as many days as you wish till you have enough pollen for your needs. New flowers open every day so new pollen is produced and can be collected each day for as long as the inflorescence will go on flowering.
Scanning the book would be difficult but i will quote the part about pollen storage if i find it. The book is in English and relatively recent publication,i just dont remember where and if it mentions anything about pollen storage techniques...
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Old 02-25-2013, 04:18 AM   #7 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: How I can store banana pollen to cross bananas later?

Gabe wrote on the forum about the shelf life of banana pollen. Likely subject was about hybridization bananas. Read these topics, use the search.
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