Questions for Ken Ettlinger

[Alan]

Though I have not yet secured an interview with Ken, I don't anticipate any issues, I plan on Ken being the third interview and would like to start compiling questions now.

[canadamike]

It would be cool to know how he can extract good esults out of mass-crosses, How he selects, kep his eye open and have some basic what to look for things. It would help a lot of folks, if not all, here.

[silverseeds]

I have only known about breeding for about a year, now, and I find it about the most magical and amazing thing I ever heard of. Something where you can really be happy with your work, Id LOVE to know practical things like michels question. And others like you asked alan kapuler, but Id also would love to know what first sparked his interest? How does he relate to his work, is it simply practicality, forming and shaping, and guiding toward his goals, or does he see it as a magical or spiritual thing?
a more practical question I would ask besides michels question which is something I am very interested to know because thats what I intend to do, would be does he think breeding holds the potential to meet and or exceed, more common genetic engineering. Meaning can breeders, professional, and wannabe amatuers like me if they have the germplasm, and put in the effort, can we match variety for variety, the conglomerates who threaten to block out competition, and essentially imprison life itself if they had their way.
I think more and more are aware of these issues, daily, and in my heart I feel the genes themselves do not need to be altered, Id really like to hear what a expert thinks on the subject.
I also would like to know what a professional thinks of mutations such as C4 corn as opposed to C3. and also the silverleaf argentum peas, which have a pocket of air under the leaves making it appear silvery, and apparently resist drought, and heat.
okay now Im going to get weird, but maybe it will jog an idea for a question, or not lol. might just be showing how uninitiated I really am lol
I have an idea of having an experimental garden plot, where I try to FORCE plants to do things, maybe if Im lucky I can force a mutation, is my idea. Mass crosses, severe conditions, Im not sure really what direction to take it, but obviously the C4 change made it possible to grow corn in times it woudnt have grown well otherwise. These mutations were NEEDED, was it a fluke, or INTENTION. I wonder this alot. The hopi had corn the planted a foot deep in SAND, doesnt seem to have to much organic matter to my eyes, just sand. It sends roots down 12 feet I heard BEFORE it sends up a shoot. This seems magical to me. They NEEDED it to work and it DID. From what I understand you can only select or bred for genes already present. So how is this much variation possible with out constant mutation. So I really wonder it seems as if the mutations if thats what it is, head in the directions we want. In asia did they get beans 30 inches long because those genes were present waiting to be selcted, or because they willed it over a thousand years, so many strange things in asia, that seem like they had more then just selection going on, these peoples didnt know breeding practices back then did they? although Im sure they understood the selection aspect of it. So then I look at the last 100 years, we wanted certain characteristics, where they really ALL just waiting in the genes, to be singled out or did people end up with what they wanted through intent. I seriously think theres somehing to this......

[silverseeds]

While I was rereading my post I had another hought, about peoples connections to their plants. we have proof pants respond to music. My plants seem to do better if I talk to them and tell them I will help them, and care for them, and save their seeds, from their fruits the whole reason plants have seeds. So many cultures, would have rain dances, and various other ceremonies involving their crops and seeds. Most cultures considered these things holy and truly revered it. Considering we have lab results showing how plants respond to music, is it really so strange to think plants can respond to our ceremonies, and generl intent, ESPECIALLY when the humans involved were trying to do exactly that.
I used to work on a farm, and once was working with the owner who had owned it for 30 years, we were talking about how plants responded to music. He told me when he heard that the first thing he thought of was one of two remanants of his old blueberry patch. He had two spots with blueberries he had already moved on to other crops but saved these two small sections. So anyway, one was completly left to the birds, the one behind his house though, he would put nets on to protect the berries from birds. He said that he liked tht spot on the farm the most because of the view. He spent alot of time there, and talked outloud to the blueberry bushes, since they had been there from the beginning literally. Like his ONE pal that was there since he started the farm, people came and went, crops grew and were harvested, but this spot was still here. anyway the blueberries he spnt the time with were about four or five feet taller, and had absolutely the biggest blueberries I ever saw. They also tasted better then any others Ive had. The other remnant blueberry bushes, were much smaller, the berries still big and tasty, but not in the same league as the other bush. After he tld me, he said they couldnt have grown bigger because I talked to them so much right? I told him I think that might be exactly why. I later learned he was a little freaked out by that thought and didnt hang out there much after that.

okay sorry this isnt about questions for ken, but I wanted to finish the thought....

[Alan]

Jul 21, 2009 1:09:01 GMT -5 silverseeds said:

I have only known about breeding for about a year, now, and I find it about the most magical and amazing thing I ever heard of. Something where you can really be happy with your work, Id LOVE to know practical things like michels question. And others like you asked alan kapuler, but Id also would love to know what first sparked his interest? How does he relate to his work, is it simply practicality, forming and shaping, and guiding toward his goals, or does he see it as a magical or spiritual thing?
a more practical question I would ask besides michels question which is something I am very interested to know because thats what I intend to do, would be does he think breeding holds the potential to meet and or exceed, more common genetic engineering. Meaning can breeders, professional, and wannabe amatuers like me if they have the germplasm, and put in the effort, can we match variety for variety, the conglomerates who threaten to block out competition, and essentially imprison life itself if they had their way.
I think more and more are aware of these issues, daily, and in my heart I feel the genes themselves do not need to be altered, Id really like to hear what a expert thinks on the subject.
I also would like to know what a professional thinks of mutations such as C4 corn as opposed to C3. and also the silverleaf argentum peas, which have a pocket of air under the leaves making it appear silvery, and apparently resist drought, and heat.
okay now Im going to get weird, but maybe it will jog an idea for a question, or not lol. might just be showing how uninitiated I really am lol
I have an idea of having an experimental garden plot, where I try to FORCE plants to do things, maybe if Im lucky I can force a mutation, is my idea. Mass crosses, severe conditions, Im not sure really what direction to take it, but obviously the C4 change made it possible to grow corn in times it woudnt have grown well otherwise. These mutations were NEEDED, was it a fluke, or INTENTION. I wonder this alot. The hopi had corn the planted a foot deep in SAND, doesnt seem to have to much organic matter to my eyes, just sand. It sends roots down 12 feet I heard BEFORE it sends up a shoot. This seems magical to me. They NEEDED it to work and it DID. From what I understand you can only select or bred for genes already present. So how is this much variation possible with out constant mutation. So I really wonder it seems as if the mutations if thats what it is, head in the directions we want. In asia did they get beans 30 inches long because those genes were present waiting to be selcted, or because they willed it over a thousand years, so many strange things in asia, that seem like they had more then just selection going on, these peoples didnt know breeding practices back then did they? although Im sure they understood the selection aspect of it. So then I look at the last 100 years, we wanted certain characteristics, where they really ALL just waiting in the genes, to be singled out or did people end up with what they wanted through intent. I seriously think theres somehing to this......

Excellent questions and plenty to consider asking Ken. I'm still waiting on an interview I sent off to Tim Peters to come back so I can post it.

To answer one part of your question. Some traditional farmers certainly understood plant breeding, some probably nearly as well as those who work with traditional breeding now days, particularly those traditional peoples of Mexico, Peru, and most certainly Egypt and the Fertile Cresent area as well, but there are gray areas we most certainly do not understand, chief amongst these things is Kculi corn, a corn so uniform it resembles a hybrid, a corn which appeared nearly 2,000 years prior to all other known corns but bears no likeness to teostine or even the earliest known pod corns. A mystery.........to me Gnosis explains it, to others not so much.