New to growing your own tomatoes? This is the forum to learn the successful techniques used by seasoned tomato growers. Questions are welcome, too.
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February 14, 2018 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Invercargill New Zealand
Posts: 1,022
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Cross Pollination -saving pollen..
Hi ..Clearly I am wasting my time trying to find a medium size tomato that I really like apart from a variety known to me as Tasty Tom...so I am going to try cross pollinating and see what happens...
I have read articles on what to do but I am always open to tips etc ...So as I understand this is basicly what I have to do ...Choose two varieties ..I have chosen Tasty Tom crossed with a Purple cherry...... To do this I require Pollen from my Purple cherry flowers..Although this is said to be the easy part I really need some tips... My Purple cherry is high and the good flowers are right at the top...for safety reasons I understand I can break off flowers from the top and then get pollen from them into a small jar and actually store it under certain conditions so that it lasts a reasonable time..... I then apply the pollin ...wait for a fruit to grow and if successful I use the seeds from the fruit to grow a cross? I have not used the proper terminology so as to keep it simple...I have emancipated a few flowers on a tasty tom plant and it was no problem ...so on with the pollin?? or is it not quite as easy as that.... Regards Ron |
February 14, 2018 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl.
Posts: 2,500
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Without trying to freeze(deep),and hoping to get input some day from the cryogenic crowd(seed bank Norway) all my pollen collections seemed to fail.Thanx for bringing it up.
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KURT |
February 14, 2018 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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You can just pinch fresh opened flowers from the donor, throw them in a small baggie and let them dry there (don't agitate the bag). When time comes, take one out and and shake the pollen on a piece of glass or something. Trying to shake pollen from nondry flowers is not very productive, not much will come out (depends on variety, I find some are suspiciously stingy especially beafsteaks), and hard to store.
I think the emasculating part is the more difficult part. Not sure how long the pollen should be viable though. |
February 14, 2018 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Zone 5A, Poconos
Posts: 959
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Everything I have read is that the longer it is stored (properly) the less viable tomato pollen becomes. 6 months seems to still be an acceptable length of time for 60-80% effectiveness, quickly dropping to <50% at a year. At 2 years under proper storage, it was very hit/miss <10%.
Proper storage looks to be at 32F with low humidity. Let pollen dry out for a few days prior to storing. Desiccants can also help to keep moisture at bay. Short term storage <1 month, it was not recommended to refrigerate, just keep it in a cool dry place. Also I saw in several references was to use the smallest container possible so the pollen is stacked/layered and not spread out. |
February 14, 2018 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Invercargill New Zealand
Posts: 1,022
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Hi..Thanks for comments ..everything helps....I have a scalpel kit,Tweezers and nearly ready to go ...but cannot find my headband magnifier..?
I will read all the notes again that I wordpadded from google and give it a go ...Here in NZ we are unable to order seeds from overseas so we have basicly stagnated tomatoes...IE what used to be a beautiful popular fruit variety ,great tasting when I was young (Popentate) is now tasteless...There are a lot of great tasting cherry Tomatoes but I love my sandwiches so I will have a go at getting a slicer and see what happens ... I have faith in the Tasty Tom which is supposedly Campari but with 3 times the taste...and if I can get some cherry taste into some seeds...Well who knows..IMO its worth a try ..I am learning in my old age and I might get lucky...As a diabetic I keep the small containers used for "test Strips" for my seeds so they could be great for pollen also...Regards Ron Last edited by murihikukid; February 14, 2018 at 09:09 PM. |
March 1, 2018 | #6 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Invercargill New Zealand
Posts: 1,022
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Difficulty getting Pollen? Would this work?
Quote:
I presume it will not work as I have not come across anything written but I thought it worth while asking the experts...Thankyou Ron... |
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March 1, 2018 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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Yes, it will work, if there is some pollen on the anther. Be careful not to break the stigma.
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March 1, 2018 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Invercargill New Zealand
Posts: 1,022
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Hi..Thanks ..Thats great? I did think about the stigma as regards it breaking ..I did a couple of trials emasulating some flowers and that went straight forward so hopefully I will have some success ...I will try and use large anthers that will go easily go over the stigma...Regards Ron
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