My attempt at hybridization - flasking medium

[siaogu]

Recently, I had a lot of seed pods popping out from my plants. I borrowed the lab for a day and tried to do my own flasking. This is how it goes.

Ingredients
MURASHIGE & SKOOG (MS) BASAL SALT MIXTURE
Banana
Sucrose
Activated Carbon
Agar - Molecular Grade


MURASHIGE & SKOOG (MS) BASAL SALT MIXTURE


MS mixture, activated carbon and sucrose


Blending all the ingredients together


The final mixture


Regulating the pH of the mixture


Splitting the mixture into flasks

After this point, I added 0.5g of agar to each flask. I forgot to take pictures of this step. After mixing, I sealed the flasks with 2 layers of aluminium foil.


The autoclaves


Placing the flasks in the autoclave


Setting the autoclave

After this, the medium is cooled in room temperature, ready for the green pod germination which I did not document as i have to be totally sterilized while doing that. My hands are busy inside the Laminar Flow Work Station.

These are the items needed for green pod germination

Items
Seed pods
70% etOH
100% etOH
Scalpel and blade
Long tweezer
Alcohol burner
Sterile petri dishes

The 70% ethanol is used to wipe down the work stations as well as cleaning the seedpods before flaming them. The 100% ethanol is used to sterilize the work equipment like tweezers and blade. You just need to clean the pod thoroughly, slice them length wise and always keep every step sterile.


Dendrobium flasks

I placed 2 flasks of random dendrobium hybrid under infrared light as well as 5 flasks of Bulbophyllum makoyanum and 5 flasks of Bulbophyllum maxillare under fluorescent plant light. I have yet to go back to see the result, i had my fun, the result does not matter much

[catasetum-ian]

WOW...............cool. with all those equipment!!
Vincent, when you said green seed pod, how green is green? meaning how soon can we harvest it for flasking?
how do we know it is mature enough to be flasked?

[siaogu]

WOW...............cool. with all those equipment!!
Vincent, when you said green seed pod, how green is green? meaning how soon can we harvest it for flasking?
how do we know it is mature enough to be flasked?

What my prof told me was that the yield will be better if the seed pod is close to its matured state. When the seed pods mature, the seeds will be more loosely packed than younger seed pods. Then again, he also said that you still will be able to get some plants out even if the seed pod is young.

[kiwiorchids]

omg, that isnt a kitchen.... 0_o

[catasetum-ian]

What my prof told me was that the yield will be better if the seed pod is close to its matured state. When the seed pods mature, the seeds will be more loosely packed than younger seed pods. Then again, he also said that you still will be able to get some plants out even if the seed pod is young.

thanks, that info is very useful to me. arigato!!!

[siaogu]

thanks, that info is very useful to me. arigato!!!

No prob, we can talk offline on this topoc if you like

Cheers
Vincent

[catttan]

Hey Vincent - very cool equipment. Looks really hi-tech. Hope you produce some super crosses.

[siaogu]

Hey Vincent - very cool equipment. Looks really hi-tech. Hope you produce some super crosses.

I have these seed pods in production:

1. Phalaenopsis Seletar Tiger X Phalaenopsis fuscata
2. Cattleya mesquitae X Brassavola nodosa
3. Bulbophyllum maxillare X self
4. Bulbophyllum makoyanum X self
5. Bulbophyllum foetidum X self
6. Bulbophyllum grandiflorum X Bulbophyllum longisepalum

Hope I can get some successful flasks from these pods....

Vincent

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Vincent, I have promoted this to an article for the forum library. Thanks for the good work and information.

cheers,
BD

[catasetum-ian]

No prob, we can talk offline on this topoc if you like

Cheers
Vincent

tqvm for the info, will PM you when i needed more info. Merci beaucoup!!