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How to kill pollen to yield mentor pollen
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Posted by michael_in_chicago z5 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 28, 08 at 20:35
| How does one kill pollen to that it can act as mentor pollen for wide crosses? I've heard of alcohol and irradiation. For the amateur, alcohol seems a good way to go, but which kind and how?
I'm envisioning sprinkling the pollen in ethyl alcohol (what %?), letting it dry, then using it. Am I close? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How to kill pollen to yield mentor pollen
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| I believe there are certain substances on or in pollen that function to make it useful/active to a pistil, and I would not desire to rinse any of those factors out by using liquid solvents. Therefore I would investigate the use of gaseous killing agents. Perhaps pure CO2 or nitrogen gas for a week would kill pollen, leaving all enzymes and sugars intact. You would want to use a control female plant to test for actual killed pollen, the desired result on this plant being no seed formed. |
RE: How to kill pollen to yield mentor pollen
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| That sounds reasonable. I'd read in various journals about the alcohol and freezing methods, just not how they work. Anyone else? |
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