How long to keep bag on branch when pollinating

[neongreen]

Hello all,

So I've just pollinated a lower branch on my outdoor Rombolt in order to produce some F2 seeds. I've read that the bag should be removed in 3-4 days, but is this long really necessary? Even while I was securing the bag with a twist tie I could see water starting to condense on the inside, and I can't imagine that there would be any pollen floating about in there after even a couple of hours.

I would think it makes more sense to remove the bag after a few hours or a day at most in order to reduce the chance of the bud molding up. My plants are nearly half way through flowering.

Thoughts?

 

[OLDproLg]

DUDE???

Ya been here since 07' aint lernt nutn yet?
it takes 15 minutes to make seeds pollenating,why use a bag,
just put some pollen on your finger an rub the white hairs.....
Dont like to see q's not answered but,WHAT 07' dude???
peace..

 

[neongreen]

Thanks for the reply OLDproLg

Ya been here since 07' aint lernt nutn yet?

I've learnt plenty, even though most of the 6 years I've been registered here I've been away from the forum - I'm just questioning the reasons behind something that seems to possibly be a little misguided to me.

why use a bag,

Since it's outdoors, and the slightest breeze will pollinate non-target buds.

just put some pollen on your finger an rub the white hairs.....

My intention was to pollinate separate branches with pollen from different males, so stray pollen wafting about could potentially mess things up.

I agree though - in principal it would be a lot easier to manually pollinate individual buds if the goal was a single cross and the plants were indoors.

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

OldProLg is right. about 15 minutes.
As soon as the pollin touches the pistils/hairs.... its seeded.
Just use a twist tie and baggies with no zipper or snap lock.
Put it over the target branch and twist tie it to the branch stem. THen shake it around pretty good.
Carefully take the bag off in 5 minutes while spraying the area and bag with water as you lift it off and put it in a trashbag that can be tied immedietly so wind doesnt carry any pollin to the other ladies. Spray the flowers and this will help set the pollin and also kill the pollin that didnt take.
Good luck with the bean making.

 

[neongreen]

Thanks for the reply OvergrowDaWorld.

What you say makes a lot more sense to me.

In the end I took my bags of after 24 hrs, but there are very few signs that pollination was successful in 2 out of 3 branches that I pollinated, one of which had a bucket load (relatively speaking) dumped directly on top of the mass of pistils at the end of a branch. The pollen was freshly collected so I'm a bit stumped as to why I'm not seeing more shriveled pistils.

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Give it a day or two to show there seeded.

 

[neongreen]

It's been nearly two weeks for the last branch I did. I'm not too bothered though - saved plenty of pollen for further attempts in the future.

 

[AlterEgo860]

its nice to make a nice little breeding area.. 5 diff boxs with hepas. to do 5 males at a time if wanted.. nice and EASY Breeding.

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

It's been nearly two weeks for the last branch I did. I'm not too bothered though - saved plenty of pollen for further attempts in the future.

So after 2 weeks the calyxs arent showing a white stripe down the length of them? Did anymore pistils turn red?
If not ...then somehow the pollin got contaminated, possibly by moisture, and the pollin is void and unusable.
With fresh pollin.....you need to dry it out before bagging it or jarring it.
Especially if there are fresh pieces of the male ballsack within the pollin.
Dont know if thats what happened in this case, but it is a major cauze of pollin malfunction.

 

[neongreen]

So after 2 weeks the calyxs arent showing a white stripe down the length of them? Did anymore pistils turn red?

I'm pretty sure I noticed at least one calyx that looked swollen, but no pistils that have turned brown/red.

I'll have to have a better look when the rain stops.

If not ...then somehow the pollin got contaminated, possibly by moisture, and the pollin is void and unusable.
With fresh pollin.....you need to dry it out before bagging it or jarring it.
Especially if there are fresh pieces of the male ballsack within the pollin.
Dont know if thats what happened in this case, but it is a major cauze of pollin malfunction.

I can't see that being the case - the pollen was collected from the male flowers and applied to the female buds within 30 minutes - maybe less. Perhaps the pollen (or much of it) was not viable to begin with. That's the only possibility that seems reasonably likely to me.

It's a bit perplexing!

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Did the pollin get moist or wet, or mashed together before dusting, within that 1/2 hour?
If not, you may be right. The pollin may not be viable.

 

[neongreen]

Did the pollin get moist or wet, or mashed together before dusting, within that 1/2 hour?

I can't see how it would have gotten moist/wet, and it defiantly didn't clump together.

 

[neongreen]

Well it looks like I have a few seeds at least.

This branch was pollinated on the 16th September, so this shot is 19 days after pollination:



I was expecting the pistils to brown and wither, but there is only a tiny bit of discoloration in one pistil out of each pair. I suspect the branches I pollinated may be better pollinated than I thought at first!

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Your good.

 

[OvergrowDaWorld]

Im not sure why the target area's pistils didnt turn dark. I still learn something new everyday on the boards. Maybe its a myth that ALL the hairs turn dark when pollinated. Maybe only SOME turn color right away?
Strain dependant maybe?
I need to look into this!!!
I absorbe knowledge like sugar.

 

[Crooked8]

I just did it RECENTLY for my first time and every pistil with a pollinated caylx had brown coloration that was obvious. Bright orange to brown in seriously like 24 hours after i removed the bag. I did this with an og and a cheese. Both exact same signs. Thats just my experience.

 

[AlterEgo860]

never had pollenation problems.. everythin that turned ended up a seed.

 

[AlterEgo860]

have had pollen not be viable.. have had males not toss any pollen at all.. but never had anything that turned.. not be a seed..

 

[Holdin']

I just had my first go-arounds with selective pollination... and to answer the OP, I leave the bag on through the dark period and remove it at lights on. Didn't end up with any stray beans it appears.

Also, signs of pollination are very apparent after 24-48 hours IME as well. It sure is a gratifying feeling