Inphreakr

What are your feelings about using colchicine during germination to induce polyploid plants? I understand that colchicine will kill most seeds.
This is probably a good question for you Hydro!

p.s. A polyploid plant is what I would consider a "superweed" Highguy.

Overgrow!

Warloc730

I had to crack open the ol' virtual dictionary at dictionary.com to understand this one...I still don't understand it...Why would you want extra chromosomes? Is this to help them mutate into a possible better potency?

How do you feel about it?

Explain a little bit more about this...

The Warloc

(this would be something good to have in a theories forum)

Delta9

Excuse me, I know that none of this post is directed in my direction.
I'm just wondering what about a polyploid would make it superweed? Or maybe it's the definition of superweed...From what I understand polys don't produce more potent buds, but bigger, more vigorous, slower maturing, more sensitive plants. While some of these traits may be of benefit, I don't think it would automatically place it in the "superweed" class. Maybe a super-plant?
Anyways be careful using poisons, we wouldn't want to hear of anyone dying while trying to create polys. And maybe you would want to only flower out the clones to make sure you don't poison anyone else, however slim the chance. Clones are the only way to reproduce polys anyway.
D9

Inphreakr

You are right, you do not want to consume any first generation plants treated with cholchicine, But new generations(clones) would polyploid and safe. I know that potency probably will not increase, I'm just looking for large high yield plants of known potency(example: polyploid Northern lights).

Imagine sea of green polyploid style!!!


[This message has been edited by Inphreakr (edited April 21, 2000).]

Highguy

I will try an d keep it understandable. Chromosomes, present in plant cells, carry the genes that convey hereditary characteristics. Each plant species has a certain number of chromosomes in each of its cells. For Weed that number is about 24, and about 12 from the female parent and 12 from the male parent. (This is not always for sure. There are so many people experimenting with all kinds of stuff you have no idea of the chromosone count unless you count them yourself.) This number is constant and plants with this number of chromosomes are referred to as diploid. Sometimes, through an accident in nature or through human intervention, plants appear which have more chromosomes than normal. Those with 36 chromosomes in each cell instead of 24 are referred to as triploids, those with 48 are known as tetraploids. If they have 36 or 48 chromosomes we call them polyploids. Polyploids are not new, nature has been producing them since the beginning of time. Tetraploids have been produced through the use of chemicals by man for over 50 years.

What are the benefits of a triploid or a tetraploid? Plants are often larger and stronger. Flowers are larger. Root systems may also be larger and more developed. For hybridizers, polyploids are valuable because plants which refuse to cross with other plants when they are at the diploid level will cross at the tetraploid level. If you cross a triploid and a tetraploid, you may get more triploids. If you cross two tetraploids, you should get more tetraploids. If you cross a diploid and a tetraploid, you may get either triploids or tetraploids. One final rule is to use the plant with the lower chromosome count as the pod parent. Anyway you need a lab quality microscope to even assume you have been sucsessful. The chromosones can be counted at 400X-600X. There are several stains available to assist you in counting. Again if you are going to try this if you break the rules you get trash, and really screw up the genetics for generations. You need to know the c count before you experiment or you are just guessing!!

Highguy

I re-read what I posted. I hope it helps someone. There is so much info on the web about increasing the yield of weed. Most just read the ads, and buy the stuff at really inflated prices at weed growing sites . Some of these chemicals are very bad for you (colchicine is readily absorbed by human skin) and overuseage kills the seed or disfigures the plant. (Plant defects are common using colchicine.) Colchicine is a hit or miss product. I have used this product on Apple Trees, but only to produce rootstock for clones. The seeds treated with it are never bred, only used as mothers for grafts. I have found that using a very low dose measured in ppm works great for apple seeds. I am never sure that the bundle has split until I look at some cells and find the bundle. I have a lab to work with and even for me this product is usually wayyyyyyy more work than I have time for. If you want I can post a link for affordable products like colchicine. I would suggest you do some reading before you buy it, cause it aint cheap.

Inphreakr

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[This message has been edited by Inphreakr (edited May 14, 2000).]

Warloc730

Well, I've done some research on this, and I think I'd like to give it a shot. I'm not sure if Highguy or Inphreaker still visit the boards, but if anybody has a link to a place where I could get some of this, please post.

One more question, I don't feel like seeding any more of my crop than I really need to, so how many seeds would it usually take to get this working? I'm looking for death/unaffected/mutation rates that others have experienced.

I would like to use blueberry for this. It is known for its low yeild/high potency features.

The Warloc

HydroGrower

Ahh.... here is another one that needs to be moved into the Theories Forum

Good luck guys...

HG

Warloc730

I found an old thread in the archives that says that a polyploid will produce more branches. I always thought that you would just get bigger buds. Does anybody know of any good breakdowns of how the extra chromosomes actually create more buds?

Three branches per node would be great for topping with SoG...

-War