Keep Male Pollens without affecting females??

[Guest Urbanhog]

I was asked this question, and I wasn't sure how to answer, so I have posted here to ask the question....

 

An friend has nice few nice Asian sativa strains growing outdoors, and noticed that couple are males that not yet the pollens have opened their flowers, but he wanted to keep the Outdoor Male pollens for his indoor indica crop for breeding purposes.

 

He wanted to know:

 

* How can he keep the outdoor pollens without affecting the female plants thru nature like winds, etc... ???

 

* Can he "cut" the male pollen branches before they open the "flowers/pollen" and put in a glass of water indoors away from the indoor growing area and they will open in glass of water?? once opened store the pollens in a film canister with microwaved rice in the fridge until needed/right condition to brush the pollens in his indoor crop??

 

I couldn't answer my mate's questions, as I spend too much time in the kitchen ::

 

Thanks for any suggestions.... Urbanhog

[OldmanMozz]

Hi, have been pondering this (over a few billy's) for a while and keep comeing back to same conclusion, from experience isolate males or u risk contamination of crop. eg 500 metres away or an isolated sterile chamber (under a couple of fluros 12/12 and prune) reintroduce in paper bag on single branches.

Safest way tho i think is to cut out males, BIG chance if your friend has already noticed male characteristics on some pants he/she will get some seeds in final crop.

Dont know about cuttings in water when flowering sounds a bit sus!

p.s. your a legend in the munchies field an i look forward 2 your input. (keep on cookn, that smoke is no good 4 ya )

[boulder]

A couple of collected articles;

 

 

Marijuana is naturally prolific. It has been estimated that a single male plant can produce over 500 million pollen grains 41. A large female plant can bear tens of thousands of seeds. In nature, pollen is carried from the male flowers to the stigmas of the female flowers by air currents or the wind. Indoors or out, if the plants are simply left on their own, most gardens produce many more seeds than are needed for the next crop.

 

Seeds usually become viable within two weeks after pollination, although they may not have developed good colour by this time. The colour can take several more weeks to develop, particularly indoors or late in the year, when the light is not as strong. Once seeds are plump, well-formed, and of a mature size, most of them will be viable. When seeds have also developed good colour, their viability should be over 90 percent.

 

Pollination may also be carried out artificially. Pollen can be collected and the transferred to the female flowers with a cotton swab or artist's brush, or shaken directly over the flowers. Store pollen in a clean, open container and keep in a dry area at moderate temperature. Remove any flowers or vegetative matter from the pollen, because they encourage fungal attack.

 

Once advantage of artificial pollination is that only the flowers on certain plants need be pollinated. This allows you to harvest most of your grass as sinsemilla, while developing seed on part of the plant. If you have only a few plants, pollinate a single branch, or perhaps only a few lower buds, in order to leaves the most potent buds seedless.

 

A good way to insure a thorough pollination, and to avoid contaminating other females, is to loosely tie a transparent bag containing pollen directly over individual buds, branches, or whole plants. Shake the bag to distribute the pollen and carefully remove it from several hours to a few days later.

 

To avoid contaminating a sinsemilla crop, you must remove any males from the garden before their flowers open. Males in pots can simply be moved to another area or room if you want to keep them growing. Male plants can complete development even in low light; so they do not need artificial light. Otherwise, the best procedure is to harvest the males intact by cutting them at their base after some flowers have formed distinct (but unopened) buds. Hang the whole plants upside down in a sheltered area where there is moderate light and where temperatures and humidity are not extreme. Place clean plates or sheet plastic beneath the plants to catch falling pollen. Generally there is enough stored water in the plant for the unopened flowers to mature and drop pollen. Well-formed flowers may open the next day. Usually all the flowers that are going to open will do so within two weeks.

 

Pollen gradually loses viability with time, but pollen that is about three weeks old generally has sufficient viability for good seed production. However, the age of the pollen may influence the sex ratio of the next generation.

 

For instance, in a 1961 study with hemp plants , the percentage of females in the next generation was 20 percent higher than in the control plants (natural pollination) when pollen 14 to 17 days old was used. A small increase in female-to-male ratios also occurred when pollen was fresh (six hours or less). The age of the stigmas appeared not to affect the sex ratio.

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You have several choices for collecting and using pollen. Males will show as a football- like "ball" on a small, short petiole (stem) at the node sites. Once the pollen pods form, they will elongate via a stem, droop, and the flower bracts will open. After about one week after pollen pods first start to form, or upon complete opening of the male flower bracts, the male anther's will shed pollen which will appear as pale, yellow dust.

 

Males do not take much light to survive once they reach flowering stage. Leave your male plant(s) in the grow room until the first male pollen bracts just begin to crack, and then move 'em into another room with a typical 12/12 schedule, this can be simulated with light thru a window or a fluorescent light fixture.

 

You have a choice of placing this plant in a very quiet room with no air movement, set on clean paper, or, you can cut the branches off, making a clean slanted cut with a razor blade, and place the branches in a vase of water over paper. Collect the pollen once it begins shedding by placing a glazed ceramic plate or paper plate under the flowers and gently tap the individual branches. Pick out any flowers which tend to drop once in a while.

 

The pollen will be like dust, so don't visit the garden until you have taken a bath, or you may end up pollinating plants you didn't intend on pollinating.

 

Collect the pollen over time and place it into a clean vial like a film canister. I really like using a paper plate held under a group of flowers, and then gently thumping the stem. After collecting the pollen, the paper plate can be creased, held over a vial, and the sides and edges thumped until all the pollen is shaken into the vial. Shape the paper plate like a creased funnel.

 

For a pollen carrier, heat about 2 or 3 teaspoons of flour in an oven set to 180f for 20 minutes or in a small pot set on low heat, let it cool thoroughly, and mix with the pollen to dilute it. I use a ratio of about 1/4 teaspoon pollen to 3 teaspoon flour and have very successful pollination rates. Store in small containers like contact lens cases or film canister, excluding as much air as possible and store in the refrigerator for long term use. Remember, it only takes one male to fertilize one female ovule, and there are millions of pollen cells in a 1/4 teaspoon of pollen so be sure and dilute it.

 

Use a small artist brush (my preferred method) or toothpick to pollinate a few of the lower branches which have fresh, white pistils, label the pollinated branches, and harvest your seeds in 3 to 6 weeks. I just cure the seeded branches with the rest of the crop, and tear apart the seeded buds with my fingers. You'll find the seeds close to the stem. Store the seeds in the fridge or freezer, labeled of course, with a little dessicant like silica gel or heat treated (sterilized) rice for long term storage.

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To determine pollination timing, start the male and the female clones under 12/12 simultaneously. Expect 3 to 4 weeks to elapse before you have pollen ready. Pollinate at this time, because seeds need 4 weeks to mature. A seed is mature when it is dark and hard, and does not crush when pinched.

 

The grower at a local medical club, did a test with Apollo in a bubbler using the above timing. They planted 3 distinct female clones and 1 male in the lid of a 10 gal rubbermaid, using 3" netpots. The male was reduced to a single branch, being sure to leave the large fan leaves to provide health and vigor. (If you let a pruned male get shaded out it can die, you must keep it well lit).

 

The top 6" of the male branch was bagged, using a brown paper bag with a clear plastic window. The bottom of the bag was taped shut completely, sealing to the stem. The top was also sealed, except one corner was clipped off, leaving a hole about the size of a dime. Pollen collected around the stem, in the bottom of the bag. There was no pollen escape from the breather hole. The grower would shake the pollen down into the bag, while pinching the breather hole shut, on a daily basis. After about a week of active pollen drop, the stem was cut off below the bag, and outside the room, the top of the bag was cut open. The male top was removed from the bag, which collected pollen sacks and debris still in the bottom. This excess pollen and debris was dumped out into a ziplock.

 

The pollen collecting bag was then carried into the grow and slipped over a single female cola and rotated around and wiggled a bit. This cola developed lots of seed. There was no stray pollination. Using a paintbrush and the ziplock of pollen, some selected buds on the other clones were pollinated as well. Again, no unexpected stray seeds. Of course oscillating fans, if you use them, should be off during painting and bagging.

[Guest Urbanhog]

Many thanks boulder for very informative reply