Hybridizing Caladiums -(making Caladium Babies)

Author
 by mysticme in gardening

Caladiums grow colorful heart shaped leaves from spring to fall. They mostly prefer shade and brighten the darker areas in my yard. There are many varieties with different colors and patterns available to purchase, but I prefer to make my own hybrids. By using different varieties there are endless possibilities of hybrids you can make. I am not a professional gardener so I am not going to use the correct terms like inflorescence, spathe or pistils, but you can follow my instructable and make your own Caladium babies without knowing all those terms.

Step 1: It's ALL About Timing

First you need pollen, but you need it when the other caladiums are ready to accept it. Timing is everything. If you have a multitude of plants it makes it much easier because you'll have some in different stages of development. I have harvested pollen from a plant and stored it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days while waiting for the other plants to be ready. However, the fresher the pollen the more chances you'll have for success.

These photos show plants that have already exposed their male parts. They are past the point of accepting pollen, but can supply it for others.

Step 2: Watching and Waiting to Make Your Move

Caladiums must be pollinated when they are "in the mood". They are only "in the mood" before the flower opens exposing the male part of the flower. You must wait until the top portion turns a pale yellow and is a few days from opening. These 2 photos show caladiums that are not quite ready.

Step 3: In the Mood for LOVE

So you've waited a few more days and the top has turned a pale yellow and loosened a bit. It is ready to naturally open in a few days. It is NOW that you must make your move and pollinate the caladium. If you wait until it opens it is too late and it will not be successful.

Step 4: Exposing the Female Parts

When the tops are pale and a few days from opening I use scissors to create a window to the female parts of the plant.

Step 5: Doing the Deed

Now that you have a window you can pollinate your plant. Use the freshest pollen you can get and a cheap small paintbrush to do the deed. I just dip the brush in the pollen and "paint" the female part of the plant with pollen. Sometimes I gently scrub the pollen filled brush into the plant to get into all the cracks and try to cover as much area as I can.

Step 6: Confirmation of a Successful Pollination

Within 2 weeks you should know whether your plant was successfully pollinated or not. If the female part of the plant (where you painted the pollen) is still yellowish with small black dots, you have probably successfully pollinated it. The male part of the plant (where the pollen forms) will begin to shrivel and possibly fall off - that's ok.

Step 7: Unsuccessful

These photos show what happens if you were unsuccessful in pollinating your caladiums. The female part will turn dark and moldy looking and the entire stalk will begin to droop and shrivel up. At this point you can just cut it off near the base and continue to enjoy your non baby making plant.

Step 8: They Plump When You Cook'em

These photos show successful pollination. Over the next few weeks, the female parts of the plant will swell up. There is nothing you can do to help them or speed up the process. Just keep your eyes on them as ants like to nibble on the berries. As they mature you may want to cover the berries to protect them from ants or from falling out. I snip a piece of pantyhose and secure it over the entire area with a twisty tie or a rubber band.

Step 9: Ready to Pop

It takes around 8 to 10 weeks from pollination to pop. You'll need to continue checking your berries until they begin to fall out when you touch them. Sometimes they begin fall out into the stocking cover so be careful while checking on them. The caladium berries shown are starting to come out so I can cut the entire stalk off near the base and bring them inside.

Step 10: Pop Goes the Weasel

Now the hard work begins. You need a well lit area where you can sit for hours removing the seeds. I would suggest using tweezers and colorful napkins. I simply take the berries and put them on something bright colored, to make them easy to see. You can discard any berries that didn't plump up. Each berry will contain anywhere from 1 to 10 seeds inside it.

Step 11: Labor of Love

This is a dirty and time consuming job. Each berry is like a tiny liquid filled balloon filled with seeds. You must open each berry and push the seeds out.

Using 1 set of tweezers I hold the berry near the black spot and with another pair of pointy tweezers I stab the berry near the black spot and scrape out the seeds. I use colorful napkins because they are tiny and very hard to see if you use something white. Once I push the seeds out of the berries I put them in a small bowl containing a small amount of distilled water. I allow the seeds to soak until the next day and then I plant them. This helps to soften the seeds and aids in germination.

Step 12: Meet Your Babies

Caladium seeds need light to germinate. So i sprinkle the seeds on top of dirt and mist some water over them with a water bottle. I put plastic over my seeds trays, keep them moist and wait. These photos show what's happened after 11 days. After the leaves begin forming I remove the plastic cover.

Step 13: 2 Months Later

2 months after germination your babies may begin to show some of their true colors. The last photo shows how tiny the bulbs will be at this stage. Good Luck!!

For further information log on website :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hybridizing-Caladiums-making-Caladium-Babies/

Hand Pollinating Soybeans

Author

by sbugeja in science

The following Instructable will assist field workers in a soybean breeding program. Crossing (also called hybridizing) soybeans is very important to create varieties that provide farmers around the world with successful harvests year after year. Unfortunately, breeding between different individuals is not done in nature with soybeans; meaning insects or wind cannot do the job. This requires humans to do almost all of the work. Pollinating soybean flowers requires good eyesight and a steady hand to ensure success.  At first glance this process may appear to be complex---but as one works in the field the tasks quickly become second nature and the entire procedure can be done in as little as 2-3 minutes.

Several terms specific to plants are used in the subsequent text. Please refer to the following diagram in case a word is not clear. Soybean flowers are not incredibly different than other flowers you might see and it is relatively simple to pick out each part.

Photo Source: www.studyblue.com (diagram), http://extension.udel.edu (soybean plant)

Step 1: Materials Needed

1. Tweezers
2. Identification tag with twist tie
3. Pencil or marker
4. Small vial or petri dish
5. Male crossing parent
6. Female crossing parent
7. Kneepads (optional)
8. Magnifying glasses (optional)

Photo Source: http://www.nsrl.uiuc.edu

Step 2: Search for Bright Opened Flowers on Male Parent

Good pollen generally comes from flowers that open for the first time; petals’ colors will appear to be “cleaner” looking and healthier than others on the branches. Avoid browning or shriveled looking flowers as they tend to have lower quality pollen.

Photo Source: www.nsrl.uiuc.edu

Step 3: Gently Use Tweezers to Completely Remove Flower From Plant

In a pinching motion grab the end of the flower beneath where the green sepals are located. Avoid violent ripping of the bud that could damage the anthers and/or lose pollen.

Photo Source: http://www.nsrl.uiuc.edu

Step 4: Remove Petals One by One Until Anthers Are Seen

Use a peeling motion to carefully remove each colored petal. The anthers should be clearly seen, forming a ring around the female style and stigma.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS

Step 5: Test Pollen Amount Using a Fingernail

The anthers will contain a sufficient amount of pollen if yellow powder is left after gently tapping the flower once onto a fingernail.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS

Step 6: Place the Altered Flower Into a Vial or Petri Dish for Later Use

The male pollen located on these anthers will be used to fertilize the female crossing parent. Ensure the vial or coin bag is clearly labeled to avoid possible loss or confusion.

Photo Source: commons.wikipedia.org

Step 7: Locate Unopened Bud on Female Parent

Determine whether this bud’s female parts are mature by gently peeling off one sepal. If you can see the color of the petal the flower is ready to be crossed.

Photo Source: http://ipm.missouri.edu

Step 8: Remove Neighboring Buds or Open Flowers

This step is to help researchers later in the year identify which flower has been crossed and check to see if the process worked. Having multiple bean pods makes this aspect difficult.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS

Step 9: Tweeze Remaining Sepals on Selected Bud

Peel each sepal separately so that one can clearly see the petals beneath.

Step 10: Remove Petals One by One

Aim for having the tweezers grasp the tops of the petals. Grabbing below or on the middle has a high chance of damaging the important female parts. Additionally, using the tweezers as a wedge may assist you as you remove each petal. Refer to the picture to see how the flower should look like after the petals and sepals are removed.

Photo Source: http://ipm.missouri.edu

Step 11: Rub Male's Anthers Onto Female’s Stigma

Act as though the male’s anthers are paint brushes and “coat” the stigma with pollen.

Step 12: Record Parents on Tag

Female parent’s ID is left, followed by an “x” and then the male plant’s ID. Other numbers or subjects may be included. Please check with the supervising scientist for help regarding specifics.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS

Step 13: Tie Wire Tag One Branch Above the Recently Crossed Female Flower

Again, this will help future plant breeders recognize exactly where the cross was tried. However, this step may vary among breeding programs so ensure you are placing the tag correctly.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS

Step 14: Conclusion

If the hybridization was effective, in a few months you should see a bean pod with no sepals and a slight brown scar around its base. Later on, this seed will be used in further study and experiments, gradually removing bad varieties until a final high quality product is sent to the farmer for field planting.

Photo Source: Dr. Reed Palmer, USDA-ARS 

For further information log on website :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Pollinating-Soybeans/

Flower Dissection!

Author
by The Oakland Toy Lab in science

When you get a biologist flowers, they may not stay intact. For beautiful things we see every day, there is actually an amazing amount to discover by not only stopping to smell the roses, but look inside them too. In our case, we're going to dissect lilies! Time to put the petal to the metal.

• What: Flower Dissection!
• Oh, but why: We have to learn somehow
• Concepts: biology, botany, anatomy, plant reproduction
• Time: ~30 minutes with a class
• Cost: ~ $0.30 per lily depending on local prices
• Materials:
  • One lily
• Tools:
  • Cutting device (scissors, razor blade, or X-acto)
  • Magnifying glass (optional)
  • Tape (optional)

For other guides on dissecting a flower, I love this one for high school classes, so check it out. Otherwise, it's flower time!

Step 1: Scope Your Flower!

Look at your flower to see how it's all formed. How many petals are there? How are the leaves shaped? What do you see inside, what do you think it all does. Pull off the leaves from the stem, and explore. You know, poke to learn!

We are using white lilies, but there is a range you'll find out there. Make sure to purchase flowers that still have their anthers (the pollen parts) intact. Many florists or flower markets will clip these off if they think it will get pollen all over their purdy flowers.

Step 2: Petals and Sepals

The outer ring of your flower consists of sepals, and the inner ring is of petals. In many flowers, these look different, but in these lilies they look nearly identical. Peel them off and count how many are in each ring. You may notice that there's pollen already on them (the orangey stuff), and on many they will have nectar guides which are patterns to help attract bees and other pollinators. Neatly, only some of these patterns are visible to the human eye.

Your petals and sepals will be the most fragrant part of the flower, so give one a small tear and smell it up! If you use your cutting tool, to cut across its stalk, you can also see evidence of its xylem and phloem running nutrients, water, and sugars around the plant.

Step 3: The Stamen (male Parts)

Once you peel away the petals and sepals, your flower looks quite a bit more naked. We're going to start with the stamen, which contains all the male parts of the flower. These mostly consist of anthers (the elliptical heads) and filaments (the supporting stalks). Anthers contain pollen, which will either be exposed or still enclosed in your anther. You can split them open and draw with the pollen, which is great with kids.

If you have a strong magnifying glass or microscope, you can even see the shape of the pollen grains. These are designed so pollinators can taken them incidentally while traveling from flower to flower for nectar. Count how many you have, draw the shapes, and again, poke to learn.

Neatly, flowers with both male and female parts (like lilies) are called perfect flowers, whereas ones without are referred to as "imperfect flowers."

Step 4: The Pistil (female Parts)

Well now your flower looks really naked. The long stalk remaining is the pistil (the female parts), the end of which is the stigma. If the flowers are fresh, the stigma will be sticky for catching pollen. If you open it up, you can see the chamber inside, and the path down the style (the stalky part), and down to ovule. Cut the style to see the semi-hollow tube inside for the pollen travel down.

Step 5: Ovary and Nectary

So the ovary is also part of the female parts, but it deserves its own step. Right at the base of the style is the ovary, and is often a strong structure that contains all the wee little ovules that can become viable seeds if fertilized with pollen. If you cut the ovary in half, you can see the little ovules (in picture 3) all in a row. BABY PLANTS! If you have a microscope, throw them under to see their shapes, which are widely varied from species to species.

At the connection point of the ovary in lilies is the location of the main nectary. You can cut it open to see evidence xylmen and phloem, and depending on the state of the flower, you may find nectar excreted. In other flowers, the nectaries can be located elsewhere so be on the lookout!

Step 6: Check Out Some More!

There are so many flowers and so little time! Check out others, and see the amazing variety of ways that flowers attract their pollinators, and reproduce.

If you want to do this with a class, I recommend this worksheet for older students and this one for younger. If you want to go deeper in to flower anatomy, this website will take you very deep.

Otherwise, happy botanizing!

For further details log on website :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flower-Dissection/