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Southern Illinois

there have been a few post about sending male flowers to another grower,to pollinate,can this be done.

2/19/2003 10:55:28 AM

[email protected]

I should think this can be done. We used to sell Live parasitic nematodes (for White Grub control in turf) that were packed in double walled, insulated & foil lined cartons. One small box within a larger one. The shipper placed a small quantity of dry ice in the larger bax to keep the smaller one cool. Then they'd ship it UPS next day air. We then had 12-24 hours to get the product into the spray tank of the applicator. I used to store the buggers in a refrigerator for that time. The Biosis company eventually changed that practice by formulation changes. The packaging & freight costs exceeded the market value of the nematodes!
Hopefully male pumpkin flower pollen isn't this volatile. Or is it? How long does the pollen remain viable? How effective is temperature at increasing "shelf life"?
Steve

2/20/2003 5:36:55 AM

Frankfort, Ohio - home of sirpumpkin

I have had seeds sent to me, by local users. I would think you would try and take the same precautions.

Well first we rapped them in a napkin (to protect the seed from possibly getting a little bit of wetness, cuz if it's gonna get wet wet, you can't stop it.)

Then we put them in a zip lock bag incase they got really wet.

The we put them in a box (which you can buy at all postal outlets.) that was maybe 2 inches high and 4 inches long and about 3 inches wide. (2x3x4)

Then had them way the box, and payed for and sent it.

-Andrew West

2/20/2003 8:26:11 AM

Southern Illinois

thanks for that info sir andrew,you mean you can actually get seed sent to you from other growers,how do you go about doing that,what kind of napkins do you use,and what kind of zip lock bag do you use,i want to make sure i do this the right way,and a 2x3x4 box are you sure that is big enough,and you mean they can actually way the package, and i can even pay for it at post office,darn this country boy is goin to hav ta get out of the barn a little more offten.

2/20/2003 10:03:05 AM

Utah

This topic came up a couple of years ago... to make a long
story short the answer is ... no one knows for sure.
I talked to several university research types who told me
that pollen remains viable for only a few hours. but
growers will you that they have kept it viable in there
refigerator for a day or two. I've heard rumors of someone
freezing pollen in liquid nitrogen and using it months
later. I have heard of growers that have driven flowers
accros town to someone else's female and it took.
I would think that Steve's method would work but i don't
know if anyone has done it.
just my thoughts
Gordon

2/20/2003 6:10:19 PM

Utah

one more thing
the shelf life of pollen i would think would be dependant on temperature, humidity, and maybe the amount of oxygen present ??? just a guess on the oxygen.

2/20/2003 6:27:39 PM

North Ga

Ken and John sent me some male flowers from their plants a couple years ago. They put them in ziplock bags and sent them overnight FedEx ($40.00). When they arrived the baggies were full of moisture and none of the females I pollinated took. My plant was a freak with only about 3 or 4 males throughout it's life so maybe something else caused the females to abort.

2/20/2003 7:10:37 PM

canal winchester ohio

Heavy, I think your best shot would be to try to find some people within a few hours drive of you. I have kept pollen in tupperware containers for up to a week & the females I pollinated with it took. The key is trying to carefully scrap the pollen off with a toothpick & store it that way. Then at pollination time use a fine artist brush to apply it. If you take a cooler & ice with you on your trip to store the pollen in you'll be fine. I think the problem Brian might have had was the fact the flower was shipped also causing to much moisture to form when bag was sealed tight...........Paul

2/20/2003 7:55:40 PM

[email protected]

I think Brian brings up a good point. The non-pollen parts of the male flower are mostly water. The humidity inside a warm zip-lock bag would be trapped inside loke a greenhouse. Since ventilating the flowers isn't practical, it sounds like the key would be to remove the pollen from the flower before packaging like Paul said. The use of liquid nitrogen would have a similar effect by changing the water into a solid. In that state, the pollen would be isolated from the water. I wonder if the moisture causes a secondary harmful condition like a fungus. Or if the pollen grains merely stick together & therefore can't physically move to fertilize the females? Pollen paste wouldn't be of any use.

I would remove the pollen to an airtight jar like a plastic prescription bottle. Then use the double box method and dry ice. The outer carton I would insulate with rigid foam insulation panels that are cut to fit the inside & glued or taped into place on all six panels.
The smaller inner cartons we used to get were about 3/4 inch thick & foil lined on the outside. Since these cartons were custom made for shipping perishables, they could be hard to find. I beleive this could be simulated with creative use of a toilet paper wrapper and some clear shipping tape. Maybe just a bubble pack envelope would be good enough.
Rick, maybe there's a perishable food processor in your area? The type of outfit that ships holiday gift packages like fruits & cheeses? If so, they might have a cost effective procedure established using locally available materials.
Just a thought.
Steve

2/21/2003 7:19:50 AM