Breeding Of Daylilies. Creative Process

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Let's continue with an interesting lesson. Let's get down to the most exciting stage: pollination and seed storage

The reproductive part of each daylily flower consists of: a pistil with a stigma at the end and 6 stamens with anthers. The bud opens only for 1 day. Having picked up a couple, they start pollination.

Crossbreeding

With a brush, they transfer pollen from dad to the stigma of mom's pistil. At the same time, ripe anthers have a bright yellow powdery appearance. A stigmatic fluid is secreted on the mother plant for better adhesion. After each crossing, the brush is cleaned of pollen residues.

The simplest option is to pluck the stamen from the paternal plant, smear it on the maternal pistil so that the grains of yellow substance remain on the pistil as much as possible.

For a successful process, it is necessary that the stigma is moist and the pollen is in a free-flowing state. In rainy weather, the stamens are brought into the house, dried. Then they start crossing. Morning hours are most favorable.

Daylily is a cross-pollinated plant. Self-pollination occurs in very rare cases due to the special structure of the flower. In my practice, this has never happened. But there are bees and bumblebees that can interfere with the hybridization process. To exclude spontaneous crossing, a cap made of thin foil is put on the finished pollinated peduncle. Attach a tag with the number and information about the parental pair. Then they wait for the result for several days.

Pollen storage

There are times when parental forms do not bloom at the same time. Then there is a need to preserve the genetic material. There are several ways depending on the storage time:

1. Paint-term (up to 7 days). The pollen is collected early in the morning along with the anthers. Place in a Petri dish or other convenient box. Dry in the shade for several hours. Close hermetically. Placed in a refrigerator, stored at a temperature of 3-5 degrees above zero.

2. Long-term (from 8 days to six months). The collected pollen is separated from the anthers. It is dried, packed in gelatin capsules from bulk drugs or a plastic ampoule from under the epin. Fold into a paper bag. Sign the grade, pick time. They are sent for storage in a freezer with a temperature of 18-20 degrees below zero.

3. If the difference in terms is 1 day, then the pollen together with the flower is removed to the refrigerator.

As a collector of excess moisture, they use sachets of silica gel, which are often found in boxes with new shoes. They are placed next to the containers.

All of the above methods help breeders to obtain new hybrids from plants of different flowering periods, without losing the viability of the genetic material.

Using pollen after storage

The main condition for successful pollination is that the pollen must remain dry. Therefore, within 5 minutes after laying out from the refrigerator, crossing is carried out. Take the required amount. The rest is immediately packed back. Re-freezing dramatically reduces the viability of the starting material.

Seed formation

A few days after hybridization, the dried peduncle falls off, and a green three-chambered box remains in its place. As the seeds grow, it increases in size. Ripening lasts 50-60 days. When it turns brown, it is carefully removed from the stem. It is important not to miss this moment. Otherwise, the seeds may spill onto the ground. At this point, your experiment will end.

The boxes are laid out in a dry place for drying. Finished seeds are black, shiny, hard to the touch. Before sowing, the starting material is packed in paper bags with inscriptions. Transfer to a cool, dry place. Germination is not lost within 1 year. When stored in the refrigerator, it can be extended up to 2 years. The minimum period of stratification before sowing in the ground is 1, 5-2 months.

How daylilies are grown from the seeds obtained, we will consider in the next article.