In message
echinosum wrote:


Michael Bell;941151 Wrote:
Maize is almost unique among the grasses in having heads at
intervals up the stem, which makes it possible to have a plant which
produces a lot, but isn't bent over by all that weight at the top.
That comes naturally with sedges. Just to make the "right" choice is
huge task. I have chosen on a "hunch". I am impressed by the tree's
vigour.
But didn't it take a very long time to get from wild ancestral maize to
the modern cultivated plant? Isn't it so changed from the wild ancestor
that we had considerable difficulty identifying it.

I read recently that modern plant breeders using the so-called
traditional method of plant breeding deliberately irradiate the
plant/seed (I forget at which stage) to get random genetic mutations,
which I suppose might help speed things up a bit. Though its a bit
easier with small annual plants like grass, you can grow a field of it
and have thousands and thousands to select from in just a year. With a
tree, it takes a lot longer and they take up a lot more space.


I did try X-rays, I read up the scientific papers, found out what
dosage was required and got the use of an X-ray machine such as they
use to check the welds on oil pipes. It didn't work.

I read up what "real" plant breeders do. They search for natural
variations. In two autumn's work I found enough variations to make a
very reasonable start, for example seeds as big as a small rice-grain.
These seeds look different (ie, they are not products of the same
gene), so by crossing them I should be able to get even bigger and
better seeds.

More by good luck than planning I have found a tree which in 3 years
has grown more than 3 metres and looks as if it will produce cones and
catkins next year.

I have developed a technique for growing seeds under light, and
grafting them onto "adult" trees, to produce catkins and cones next
year, so I can do a cross in 2 years, rather than the 7 years it might
take with growing a whole tree.

Michael Bell



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