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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Sept 3, 2010 11:39:25 GMT -5
Giggles. We have lots of ephemeral plants out here that grow from seed and quickly produce seeds after a rain... And we have lots of perennial plants that lie dormant as roots or tubers during the dry summer season... And we have lots of bi-annuals that sprout in the fall and produce seed in early spring. I wouldn't call these types drought tolerant. I'd call them drought avoidant.
In a drought avoidant corn I could imagine a variety that would come up super early, grow quickly and produce seeds around the middle of June just at the beginning of the dry season... (Painted Mountain and Bear Island come to mind as possible candidates.)
I am not in theory opposed to GMO plants or animals. I don't knowingly grow them in my garden, but that's due to pragmatism: knowing that my customers don't like GMO.
I harvested my Painted Mountain X Sugary Enhanced seed yesterday.
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Post by Alan on Sept 3, 2010 15:38:10 GMT -5
I'm rolling laughing Joseph. This is about the most perfect description of drought tolerant corn that I have seen. I don't think you have much chance of finding a corn that sheds leaves until fall monsoons. That is not in the nature of any corn I've ever grown or read about. There is a very small chance of finding a frost tolerant corn. After all, many grasses - such as ryegrass - are happy as pigs in mud at sub-freezing temps. The problem will be that corn uses C4 photosynthesis which is extremely inefficient at temps below 50 degrees F. Going on memory, the reason ryegrass is successful is that it uses C3 photosynthesis. I need to doublecheck this is correct. Would you be interested in a GMO corn that combines genetics from Ryegrass with Maize? That would get you both C3 and C4 photosynthesis and the ability to survive freezing winters and blazing summers. I'm picturing a grass that grows in low clumps during winter and sends up bamboo like stalks in summer. The winter clumps would be C3 photosynthesis and the summer stalk would use C4. End result would be a new type of grain with phenomenal production potential. DarJones Wrong and unneccesary. It already exists and no Genetic Modification was needed to produce it. T-4 population. You probably won't find it on google and you probably won't find any seed for at least 3-5 more years. It is a perrinial corn. It is very archaic at the moment, but with selection and development it can be turned into something very productive. It grows in clumps and creates a crown, dies back in the fall, and then in spring sends up fresh, green shoots, usually bearing one-three small ears to a plant. Archaic like I said, but a good start. None of us know EVERYTHING.
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Post by DarJones on Sept 3, 2010 20:28:01 GMT -5
No, not ever everything.
But I do know about Peters with the perennial corn. It is not quite a match for what I described though. That is one reason I said there is a chance of finding a corn that overwinters and produces seed bearing sprouts in spring. As stated, the problem will be that corn uses C4 photosynthesis. That pretty much eliminates any chance of growing during winter.
One more note, while you are thinking about perennial corn, look up aerenchyma and gamagrass and particularly consider that corn and gamagrass have at least some ability to crossbreed. Aerenchyma is interesting in its own right, but if you search for it you will readily find some research work that documents corn/gama hybrids.
DarJones
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