Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

For the last month or so I have been working on a project with the University of Colorado, IWMI (a division of CGIAR) and USAID. It involves breeding new types of bananas for drought tolerance and other things. However, I only have access to a very limited number of flowering bananas and need many more hybrid seeds than I will be able to produce on my own. What would happen is I would direct you in hybridising your own flowering bananas and about 3 months later you would collect the seed and send them to me, and in return I can send you free banana plants of various varieties or something else if you wanna talk about it.

You will need flowering (or about to flower) at the same time, at least one banana from each of these groups, and from there, if you can do that, we will talk about which ones in particula will work. You can still participate if you think you will have some of these flowering by December at the latest. I realize that its about winter for most of us, however, if you are a member in a tropical/subtropical location or have a greenhouse, it still should be possible as long as your plants keep growing.

PLANT GROUP 1: (Rhodochlamys)
Musa laterita
Musa velutina
Musa mannii
Musa rubinea
Musa siamensis
Any Musa with the name "ornata" in it

PLANT GROUP 2: (Edible Eumusa)
'Pelipita'
'Saba'
'Cardaba'
'Pisang Jari Buaya'
'Yangambi Km. 5'
'Rose'

Please PM or email me if you think you can help.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

I probably can't get involved, because I don't expect flowers on any of those species for quite a while. What is your time frame for the study?

Paul

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Data needs to be presented in March 2007. However, all hybrids need to be made at least 4 months in advance (3 may work though).

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Damn. I didn't know that the time frame was that short, Gabe. Thats fast.

Zac

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

What kind of data could you have by March of next year? Seeds could take longer than that to germinate! Are you just trying to see if the crosses are possible? I've got Orinoco and velutina flowering right now, as well as musa 'Royal Purple'. 'African Red' apparently has no pollen, so it would be useless as a donor. Richard says that his wouldn't accept pollen either. If I can be of any help, let me know. I don't have any of your edible varieties though. Good luck!

:2223:

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

I have ornata 'Royal Purple' that is just about to flower on two stalks. If someone could send me pollen, I'd try to help.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Im doing embryo resuce gerimination so seeds with only take about 2 days to germinate, and I will at least be able to evalutate and select them for initial vigor. It is also on going project for a few years but I have to present this first stuff by March, from then on I have lots of time.

Heres is a more detailed list of what the plants need to be.

FEMALE PARENTS:
Any Rhodochlamys- to be crossed with male fertile edibles (anything from group 1)
'Saba'
'Cardaba'
'Pelipita'
'Yangambi Km.5'

MALE PARENTS:
Any Rhodochlamys- to be crossed with female fertile edibles
'Pisang Jari Buaya'
'Rose'


You can try pollinating your other edible bananas with the Rhodochlamys pollen, but these varieties listed are common ones I have selected for fertility, others really have little to no chance for success.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Gabe, original study aside, this looks like a project you may still be working on in grad school. Much of the data will take several years, if I'm projecting this correctly. Please keep us informed, and let us help further down the way. For instance, anything we can plant now, so that we can help out in 2 years? The growth and maturation rate of bananas will probably control the pace of your project, and we'd be happy to start planting now... err, in April.
Are you planning to tc successful hybrids?

Paul

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Yes this project will take a fairly long time to complete. No need to worry about helping out later, its just if anyone had anything flowering now, I could use that. The first hybrids I doubt anyone will want really, but after a few years of more hybrids and backcrossing perhaps some will come out that are worthy of tissue culture.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Just want to wish you the best with this project. :)

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Gabe, can you detail how embryo rescue germination is accomplished with banana seeds? I've done it with palm seeds (butia, jubaea), but never with a banana seed. Seems like quite a challenge. I've searched for info on the internet, but came up empty. Thanks!

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

The procedure of removing the embryo is rather easy, if you cut open some soaked seeds you can see the embryo very easily, later on i can post some pictures i have when i used to do it.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Umm... this may be a stupid question but what does one do after removing the embryo ? Does it need a sterile environment to grow in ? Where does it get its energy from if the endosperm and cotyledons are missing ?

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

I think they put the embryos in an agar-dish, specially formulated for plants and when there are some roots they pot them up. Probably similar to the formula thy use in TC. Gabe, details?

:05:

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

I don't have seeds, but I have one mystery balbisiana that took the 110 full direct sun in a pot this year and seemed to keep going while others got their leaves fried.
In a few different states in Mexico this June I saw alot of very drought tolerant ornico type bananas that were blooming without any water, and this was in regions where the main crop and industry is the blue agave for tequilla.
I'll post pics sometime, but don't have the means right now.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Sounds cool!!
This is probably not the same since you got seeds. But there is a technique that breeders use for producing seedless grapes. They would remove the embryo before it would naturally abort. The embryo would complete its development in a test tube. I think I read somewhere that this was tried with bananas but was not successful.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Hi Gabe

Found this searching Pelipita, curiuos to how this project turned out for you?

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

I was able to do some crosses on my own, but am actually still working on getting more. Some of the hybrid seeds have been put into embryo culture but with minimal results so far.

Re: Need Help with Project, free plants if you can help
 

Sounds interesting! Please keep us updated as time goes on.