pollen storage and materials
J.E. Shields (Fri, 12 Aug 2005 16:09:12 PDT)

Hi Millie, Joe, Alberto, and all,

I too have used Drierite, zip-top plastic bags, and Eppendorf
microcentrifuge tubes for years. I group the anthers in the
microcentrifuge tubes, 2 to 4 anthers per tube.

I have an expensive drying box; I put the microcentrifuge tubes with their
freshly collected anthers in the dry box at least overnight. The
microcentrifuge tubes are sitting open in styrofoam microtube racks. I
keep blue Drierite in dishes sitting in the dry box with the samples being
dried.

I put a few microcentrifuge tubes (with their anthers) into a single
zip-top plastic bag, and store this in the freezer. I don't keep materials
for more than a few years, and the atmosphere inside a freezer
(self-defrosting) is probably pretty dry. Still I would like someday to
see someone (other than myself) do a careful study of pollen germination
for bulbs versus moisture content, storage temperature, and time. You can
germinate pollen in dilute sugar solutions and see the pollen tubes grow
under a microscope. Percent germination of pollen is what one would measure.

For short-term storage, you can store pollen just about any old way. It is
when you want to have viable pollen to use a year from now that the details
begin to become important.

Oh, yes, and I fear that if I tried to regenerate my Drierite in my wife's
oven, I'd need to find a new home for myself. It's a lot cheaper to throw
the spent Drierite away and buy fresh!

Regards,
Jim Shields
in central Indiana (USA)

*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA