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cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 5:04 am
by Starchy
Just wondering if anyone could explain this is a little more detail. I am currently under the assumption that self pollination is simply a plant that pollinates itself from the same flower, and that cross pollination is achieved via 2 different plants. The part I am asking for clarity on is if a plant produces 2 different flowers at the same time(from the same plant), can pollinating from 1 flower from the other be considered cross pollination? Or does it have to involve two completely different mother plants?

I watched SDCP's ping pollination video on youtube, which was awesome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kf3kFhAY1A). I just was confused about that one part.

Based on his video, it is not advisable to pollinate from the same flower unless that is the only alternative.

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:27 pm
by snapperhead51
just wondering if anyone could explain this is a little more detail. I am currently under the assumption that self pollination is simply a plant that pollinates itself from the same flower, and that cross pollination is achieved via 2 different plants. is if a plant produces 2 different flowers at the same time(from the same plant), can pollinating from 1 flower from the other be considered cross pollination? Or does it have to involve two completely different mother plants?

yes a self pollinator , pollinates its self correct , from the same flower.
cross pollination involves 2 different flowers from the same specie plant types , for example , P.agnata crossed with P.gypicola this will form a hybrid between the two different specie or plants or flowers ,the seed will have some of both plants features mixed together ,usually one will be the dominate plant and carry more of its growth features or habits in the hybrid .

"The part I am asking for clarity on"
a plant can only produce its own flower type specific to its flowering habit, the plant in question can not produce 2 different flower types, a plant can and will produce multiple flowers ,they will be all genetically the same ,shape, colour ,size, ect , when taking pollen from one flower to the next from the same plant , its still only going to produce seed as if its been self pollinated, but can have some slight variations ,which usually are so minute that you cant seem them , but in general they will be like the mother plant, unless the pollen from other plants (species or hybrids) has been mixed or applied to the receptor then you get the variation from the mother plant from the seed its produces.

Watched the vid ,his procedure is very cumbersome and unnecessary , and he cross pollinated the flower with self , when the tooth pick went up to high when trying to get pollen from the flower, tearing the flower open is just not necessary at all , its very simple to do with the flower left whole , never do cross pollination out side in the wind , do it indoors or sheltered area ,with good light and use magnified glasses if possible you see a lot more detail , the black tipped tooth pick i think was a good idea ,will do that myself from now on .
one very important thing is , never in any circumstances handle the seed with your hands or fingers , it can affect the seed viability or put fungus or germination hibernating oils or substances from your fingers on the seed, this is especially true when doing tissue culture , and is just good practice when wanting good natural germination seed stock ,it dose make a difference , use clean tools and fresh white paper, and new seed packets as dust holds more germs and bacteria than just about any thing else, then put in clean sealing container , then in the fridge for storage . hope that helps a bit
J

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:28 pm
by Starchy
Thanks J!

I have 1 more question: is one of these better than the other- assume a plant cannot self-pollinate. I could pollinate from the same flower, pollinate from 2 different flowers of the same plant, or pollinate from 2 different flowers from 2 different plants of the same species and cultivar (ie: d. spatulata fraser island flower pollinated with another d. spatulata fraser island flower). I ask because I doubt I will often have 2 of the same plant, but may want to not create a hybrid.

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:00 am
by bananaman
Two different flowers from two different plants is necessary if the plant is self-incompatible.
The plants cannot be clones (i.e. taken from cuttings of the original plant, the same cultivar etc...) or else it will not take.
Mind you, this is just for self-incompatible plants, not self-fertile plants.
For self fertile plants (like D. spatulata), you can do any of the ablove options and get viable seed.
However, the seeds wil produce different plants even if you self pollinate it.
This is because of the way meiosis works.

By the way, spatulata fraiser island is not a cultivar. It is just a strain of plants with location data about where the original plants came from.

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:14 am
by snapperhead51
Some drosera need , 2 different plants of the same specie to pollinate not all are self pollinating , it will just depend on its growth habit and location to whether it can self or need another plant to pollinate it of the same specie, you will need to look that up in there specif pollinate habits, I cant tell you specifically with D. spat as i dont grow hardly any drosera if your talking neps and ping helis , cephs , sarrs no problem i would ask sundew man or on the sundew threads for that particular info , . a good book to start with is Savage Garden , lots of old stile information good basic stuff you need to know then progress up from there , get to know the basics fist , then you will have a greater back ground to work from
J

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:29 am
by Starchy
yeah, I read the Savage Garden. It's a very helpful book, but doesn't go into much detail on cultivation. I am on the hunt for CP books that are set to a single species.

Re: cross pollination vs self pollination

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:36 pm
by bananaman
I don't know of any books like that.
I know of a few technical ones that cover one or two genera, but none on a species-specific level.

Also, one reason may be because everyone does different things that can get success.