embryo rescue?

Jim McKenney jimmckenney@starpower.net
Wed, 24 Nov 2004 15:07:54 PST


tsuh yang asked:

>what the heck is an embryo rescue?

And Jim Shields replied (in part):

>So successfully making a very wide intergeneric hybrid is not a simple 
>thing to do.

No argument there, but embryo culture itself is not beyond the skills (or
learning curve) of most enthusiasts. In the lily world (genus Lilium)
embryo culture has received lots of attention from amateurs during the last
twenty years. There have been workshops, lots of published instructions,
everything you need to know to crank up the pressure cooker, really clean
the kitchen work surfaces, excise embryos and morph into lab mode. 

In the lily world, embryo culture is primarily used to facilitate wide or
interdivisional crosses. Since the process is based on tissue culture
techniques, you also learn how to multiply clonal material, too. These
processes have revolutionized lily hybrids: coming soon to a garden center
near you - super lilies, bigger and easier than anything most gardeners
have ever seen.

Jim McKenney
jimmckenney@starpower.net
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where all I need is yet
another way to acquire more plants.   



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