Post by Alan on Jan 26, 2008 11:46:20 GMT -5
I was searching through my tobacco seed inventory a couple of days ago and came across a number of lines which I have grown out for seed in the past which have a number of nice recessive genes to play with. Genes for things like different colored flowers, Wide leaf structure, curled tip leafs, and verigated leaves. Anyhow, having already made a small seed increase of these a few years ago I decided that this year I might try a mass cross of these tobaccos by mixing a small seedlot of each type together and growing them together making hand crosses and letting the bees do some work for me.
Next year I'll offer some of the new mixed seelot to those interested in playing with some of the Tobacco on their farms for ornamental purposes because you should get any number of nice resecive re-combinations which would be attractive to those looking for ornamentals. Of course segregation and growout and selection of types as well as rouging out types you don't like would be up to you and would take a bit of room to perform (unless you just grew a couple of plants a year to play with) or you could just plant several of them and allow the hybridization to continue, over time the dominant genes would be selected out and natural selection would take it's course (though there would almost always be some variation due to the amount of genes your playing with) and you could come up with one very storng, regionally adapted tobacco, exclusive to you in several years.
Just an idea I had that I wanted to share.
-Alan
Next year I'll offer some of the new mixed seelot to those interested in playing with some of the Tobacco on their farms for ornamental purposes because you should get any number of nice resecive re-combinations which would be attractive to those looking for ornamentals. Of course segregation and growout and selection of types as well as rouging out types you don't like would be up to you and would take a bit of room to perform (unless you just grew a couple of plants a year to play with) or you could just plant several of them and allow the hybridization to continue, over time the dominant genes would be selected out and natural selection would take it's course (though there would almost always be some variation due to the amount of genes your playing with) and you could come up with one very storng, regionally adapted tobacco, exclusive to you in several years.
Just an idea I had that I wanted to share.
-Alan
