Collecting Pollen.

[phreakah]

Hello, sorry if this has been covered before but I tried a search on it and nothing came up.

 

I am looking to collect the pollen off of a pure afghan, to store and use to pollinate a certain skunk #1.

What is the best way of collecting the pollen, what do I store it in?

I have moved the male as far away as possible and will kill it as soon as I have decent supply of pollen.

Also, how do I store it? Is paper/plastic better, freezer/dry drawer?

 

Cheers!

[Frazz]

when you say as far away as possible i hope you mean in a closed room / shed , or outside half a kilometre away

 

anyway some suggestions on pollen

with a growing living plant i select a branch with healthy swollen pollen sacs at point of opening , place a long paper bag over end of branch, tie paper bag around stem , check in 2 days by bending branch downso pollen falls to bottom of bag remove and save pollen

 

alternately you can cut that branch from the plant take it inside place in a vase of water to keep it alive, put on a large table away from air movement, maybe put some sheets of paper down for the pollen to fall on and collect

 

or just take a small small plastic/glass jar and a pair of tweezers, when pollen sacs open pluck off with tweezers drop into jar, check plant morning and night for newly opened pollen sacs , be sure to remove the actual sacs a couple of hours after collection shaking them well to leave the pollen in the jar

 

always keep pollen in cool, dark place .. the greatest enemy of pollen is moisture it kills pollen instantly! so when storing pollen make small paper envelopes to keep pollen in , then place envelopes into a small air-tight tupperware container with a layer of rice (to absorb any moisture) in the bottom, place container in fridge for storage

 

when time comes to selectivly pollenate the chosen plant you can use the paper bag method to pollenate one branch, shake bag around to disperse pollen, leave bag on branch for a week, spray surronding area of plant with misted water then remove paper bag after a week in the sun or under lights 99% of pollen is dead anyway

 

have fun making seeds, its exciting to see the offspring of your own handiwork

[phreakah]

Thanks, I think collecting the pollen sacs into a jar when they open is the way to go.

 

I have only moved the plant to the other side of my property, but then again the only female in flower I have is the one I want to breed with so a few seeds here and there on the top of the plant wont matter much.

My aim is to pollinate a lower branch with a small paintbrush out of the jar.

 

Thanks for the help!

If anyone has any more tips they are always welcome.

[gothash]

Thanks, I think collecting the pollen sacs into a jar when they open is the way to go.

 

I have only moved the plant to the other side of my property, but then again the only female in flower I have is the one I want to breed with so a few seeds here and there on the top of the plant wont matter much.

My aim is to pollinate a lower branch with a small paintbrush out of the jar.

 

Thanks for the help!

If anyone has any more tips they are always welcome.

 

paintbrush...i tried this many years ago when i had 2 strains i wanted to mix, with not good results, the pollen being very light and of not much substance falls of the brush and gets blown off the brush by the slightest breeze, or even u sneezing or moving slightly can move the pollen into parts that u dont want it to, personally i would do the whole bag method much easier to contain the pollen to where you actually want it.

[Fibrofeend]

Ive used paintbrush method, very fine artists brush.

Stored the pollen in airtight container with silica in fridge.

I was not gentle in application either of 6 of the very bottom popcorn buds. = 166 very nice seeds.

Sprayed the rest of the plant with water to ensure any stray pollen had less chance of working.

As frazz said moisture is the enemy of pollen

 

cheers