Parajubaea Sunkha pollen processing for hybrids

[ErikSJI]

I was reading about coconuts and how they pollinated them. In the article it had mentioned the shelf life of pollen is 72 hours. I do not know how true that is or if it is the same with other palms. I would assume they are meaning if it is not dried and stored.

The last clump of seeds is coming off from the butia x parajubaea cocoides. On one clump we have 4 massive seeds compared to the rest. 3 to 4 times the size of the others. I will get a photo of it. Have you experienced this at all?

Here is a photo of Syagrus R Pollen hanging in the garage. When you walk in and out of there you are covered in a fine dust of pollen.

[gyuseppe]

The last clump of seeds is coming off from the butia x parajubaea cocoides. On one clump we have 4 massive seeds compared to the rest. 3 to 4 times the size of the others. I will get a photo of it.

Erik in total how many seeds of Butia x parajubaea,that you have produced ?

[TimHopper]

OK, I have discovered a technique for dusting my stored Parajubaea Sunkha pollen. One large empty baby powder container,add one teaspoon of pollen and three tespoons of white all-purpose flour. Shake to stir, open vent cap and squeeze which propels the pollen cloud much better than anything else that I have tried. Working with a huge Queen inflourescence is much different than working with a small butia or jubutia infl. This will save me a lot of time three times daily. This is a second Syagrus that I am pollinating. You can see that the female flowers are perfectly receptive with open petals and nectar in the photo. Weather plays a big part in this process. Tim

[ErikSJI]

The last clump of seeds is coming off from the butia x parajubaea cocoides. On one clump we have 4 massive seeds compared to the rest. 3 to 4 times the size of the others. I will get a photo of it.

Erik in total how many seeds of Butia x parajubaea,that you have produced ?

75 on the first one. Around 150 on the second one. Third is coming off the tree next week and looks to be holding around 150 as well. Had a few floaters but planting them anyway.

[ErikSJI]

OK, I have discovered a technique for dusting my stored Parajubaea Sunkha pollen. One large empty baby powder container,add one teaspoon of pollen and three tespoons of white all-purpose flour. Shake to stir, open vent cap and squeeze which propels the pollen cloud much better than anything else that I have tried. Working with a huge Queen inflourescence is much different than working with a small butia or jubutia infl. This will save me a lot of time three times daily. This is a second Syagrus that I am pollinating. You can see that the female flowers are perfectly receptive with open petals and nectar in the photo. Weather plays a big part in this process. Tim

Cool idea Tim.

[ErikSJI]

Tim have you seen how the guys in New Zealand are pollinating the Kiwis? Not sure if I am allowed to post a link. But they have developed a back pack pollen blower. There is also one where they modified a leaf blower.

[Gtlevine]

I like this idea Tim, seems like it should give a very even disbursement. I'm crossing my fingers, I want a Queen x Sunkha.

[TimHopper]

About 40% of the seeds have fallen off since pollinating with Parajubaea S. pollen. It is still too early to tell if the pollen worked. These seeds are growing fast but Syagrus can abort seeds larger than these. I should know in about another week how many will set. Of course it will be some time before they ripen and I can inspect some mature seeds to see if they look viable. Here is a photo that I took today. Tim

Edited August 29, 2011 by TimHopper

[freakypalmguy]

OK, I have discovered a technique for dusting my stored Parajubaea Sunkha pollen. One large empty baby powder container,add one teaspoon of pollen and three tespoons of white all-purpose flour. Shake to stir, open vent cap and squeeze which propels the pollen cloud much better than anything else that I have tried. Working with a huge Queen inflourescence is much different than working with a small butia or jubutia infl. This will save me a lot of time three times daily. This is a second Syagrus that I am pollinating. You can see that the female flowers are perfectly receptive with open petals and nectar in the photo. Weather plays a big part in this process. Tim

Great idea Tim, thanks for sharing it.

Edited August 30, 2011 by freakypalmguy

[TimHopper]

Well, the Syagrus R. x Parajubaea Sunkha seeds are still growing and they have stopped falling off. Looks like about 200+ have set after applying the Parajubaea Sunkha pollen. Even though about 75% fell off, it is still better than I expected. I have never used parajubaea pollen before, and was unsure about how this would turn out. It will be a few wweks before they are ripe and I will cut some open to see if they look viable before planting.Here is a photo of the seed set. Tim

[iamjv]

Looks like a good set!!!! How exciting! Please do take pics of the progress as well as the seeds you cut into prior to planting! Thanks, Jv

[freakypalmguy]

Great news Tim, I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Here's the first Butia X Parajubea sunkha seed to fall off my tree, it has good size, not like the small ones that come out as duds. I'm not going to risk cutting any with only around 60 or 70 that set.

[TimHopper]

Great news Tim, I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Here's the first Butia X Parajubea sunkha seed to fall off my tree, it has good size, not like the small ones that come out as duds. I'm not going to risk cutting any with only around 60 or 70 that set.

That is great news Matthew. I would like to officially enter the lottery for one of those seedlings. Of course I know that Gary is first in line. Tim

Edited September 3, 2011 by TimHopper

[Nigel]

Great news Tim, I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Here's the first Butia X Parajubea sunkha seed to fall off my tree, it has good size, not like the small ones that come out as duds. I'm not going to risk cutting any with only around 60 or 70 that set.

Matt, you did it, thats a good seed and not a 'stone '.

Tim, are you going to slice open a seed or two in a couple of weeks to see if they have a compartment ? You should know then if you have good seeds or not.

[merrillwx]

Hi, Tim:

Congratulations on your success! I'd like to reserve my hybrid seed or seedling now!

Best Wishes,

merrill

[TimHopper]

Hi, Tim:

Congratulations on your success! I'd like to reserve my hybrid seed or seedling now!

Best Wishes,

merrill

Merrill, I have pollinated a second Queen inflourescence with the same Parajubaea S. pollen. There should be plenty to distribute among our Palmtalk members. It is good to hear from you. Tim

[Adam from Oz]

Hi, Tim:

Congratulations on your success! I'd like to reserve my hybrid seed or seedling now!

Best Wishes,

merrill

Merrill, I have pollinated a second Queen inflourescence with the same Parajubaea S. pollen. There should be plenty to distribute among our Palmtalk members. It is good to hear from you. Tim

Isn't he sweet?!

[freakypalmguy]

Great news Tim, I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Here's the first Butia X Parajubea sunkha seed to fall off my tree, it has good size, not like the small ones that come out as duds. I'm not going to risk cutting any with only around 60 or 70 that set.

That is great news Matthew. I would like to officially enter the lottery for one of those seedlings. Of course I know that Gary is first in line. Tim

Tim, I sent you a private message, just wanted to make sure you got it.

[TimHopper]

Thanks Matt, Looking forward to seeing those Butia X Parajubea sunkha seeds germinate. Tim

[TimHopper]

Well, I am very happy with the seed set on the second queen inflorescence using Parajubaea Sunkha pollen. I got 75% to set using the new technique with the powder container. It was much easier to evenly distribute the flour/pollen mixture three times daily for four days. I rarely have seed sets this good, so the queen must be very receptive to the P. Sunkha pollen. The first infl. that I worked with only set about 25%. Hopefully will have some seeds ripening in just a few weeks. Here is a picture of the 75% seed set. The inflo. was initially cut in half to make it easier to cover. Tim

[Nigel]

Thats spectacular Tim, I take my hat off to you.

[sergiskan]

...woow!

...congrats Tim, good job!

regards

[_Rich]

That's outstanding Tim! Congrats for such a successful seed set. Best wishes for continued success.

Rich

[JD in the OC]

should make a very neat coccosoid hybrid Tim! thanks for the pics and info

[Alex-v]

I can not imagine how beautiful it will be this hybrid

[iamjv]

Great seed set on that second queen.... any updated pics???

[TimHopper]

So far, so good. Fruit are still growing as temps cool off. They should be getting close to ripening. This first photo shows one great seed set. The other two are just fair. Still, I think that I will have over 1000 seeds to work with when they ripen.

[Xhoniwaters1]

Wow congratulations! That's gotta be an exciting accomplishment if you ask me.

[Adam from Oz]

*Gets four fingers and rapidly slaps them into palm of the other hand*

It's called CLAPPING.

Bravo!

Me, who love the "juiciness" of the second pic.

[Mark Heath]

Good job Tim!!

Hats off to you for not forgetting the great Merrill Wilcox! Keep up the great work and i cannot wait to see what these guys will look like!!

[freakypalmguy]

Very nice work Tim, that's a serious seed set.

[Nigel]

Very nice work Tim, that's a serious seed set.

Matt hows your efforts going along ? Whats the latest on your BxC ?

[TimHopper]

Good job Tim!!

Hats off to you for not forgetting the great Merrill Wilcox! Keep up the great work and i cannot wait to see what these guys will look like!!

Mark, Merrill is my inspiration and the one who first got me interested in hybrids. A big thanks to Merrill Wilcox and Charlie Raulerson.

[iamjv]

Tim those pics rock!!!! Congrats.... can't wait till you're germinating those babies! Jv

[Butiagrus]

Tim, this topic is very intersting! And a (Syagrus romanzoffiana X Parajubaea sunkha) will be an atractive hybrid (one of my dreams)! Good luck in your job !

JBG

[TimHopper]

Thanks everyone, I will update as seeds ripen. I plan to cut some seeds open with photos as they mature. Hopefully they will look healthy and viable. Tim

[Mark Heath]

Good job Tim!!

Hats off to you for not forgetting the great Merrill Wilcox! Keep up the great work and i cannot wait to see what these guys will look like!!

Mark, Merrill is my inspiration and the one who first got me interested in hybrids. A big thanks to Merrill Wilcox and Charlie Raulerson.

I know, Merrill was my mentor and inspiration as well. I think it's cool of you to pay it forward!

[Nigel]

I know, Merrill was my mentor and inspiration as well. I think it's cool of you to pay it forward!

Merrill seems to have inspired an entire new generation of hybridisers ( including me) to continue his work and some of the things being done are amazing.

[TimHopper]

Just an update to inform everyone that these Syagrus x P. Sunkha seeds are taking a long time to ripen. I just assumed that they would ripen in the same time as plain syagrus. Other plain syagrus inflourescences on my property that are of the same age have already ripened and fallen to the ground. These Syagrus x P. Sunkha have not really changed in appearance since the last photos above. I have cut open a few to find that the seed is slightly smaller than normal, but look perfectly healthy.

[Nigel]

Just an update to inform everyone that these Syagrus x P. Sunkha seeds are taking a long time to ripen. I just assumed that they would ripen in the same time as plain syagrus. Other plain syagrus inflourescences on my property that are of the same age have already ripened and fallen to the ground. These Syagrus x P. Sunkha have not really changed in appearance since the last photos above. I have cut open a few to find that the seed is slightly smaller than normal, but look perfectly healthy.

Tim, I had a feeling this would happen....