HOW OLD CAN POLLEN BE ALIVE?

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just incase anyone is interested chimera made a thread on freezing pollen https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=228252

 

[Dkgrower]

Nice topics, idk how long they can be viabel... I helped an author with some pollen analyse from danish lakes where evidence form redding off hemp is evident as fare back as the bronze age.

 

[l337purpl3]

-30 degrees!!! Would those be those special freezers they keep semen in? Was trying to get more info on those freezers for breeding purposes (dogs)

 

[slshemup]

hey Sam,

what sort of freezer are you using to get -30 and no defrost?

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

It is a big lab freezer, I will have to check. I have several, some for more then 20 years now.

-SamS

hey Sam,

what sort of freezer are you using to get -30 and no defrost?

 

[budseyeveiw]

It is a big lab freezer, I will have to check. I have several, some for more then 20 years now.

-SamS

wow you get hi tech with this whole storage thing. i stuck mine on a shelf and wondered if its viable a few months later... probably not lol

 

[DoobieDuck]

...I freeze mine at -30C in a freezer that does not defrost.
-SamS

Sam many thanks, I have been wondering about the self defrosting freezers harming pollen as I keep some of mine in one that does. The last time I tried some of it I was unsucsessful..though I'm hit or miss most of the time anyway. Cheers..DD

 

[bonbolos]

Tetrazolium is what I use for testing pollen viability, I find it better then "water-sucrose agar and check the emergence of germtubes with microscope"
And I do agree that the % of frozen viable pollen is only 5-10% or less at the most, but that is enough when you have lots frozen.
I have used lots of pollen that was over 10 years frozen, no problem.
I have not had success with pollen stored at room temps for longer then a year.
I never tried vacuum as I did not seem to need it, so I can not comment.
I freeze mine at -30C in a freezer that does not defrost.
And I use it as fast as I can when removed from the freezer, I am afraid it loses viability quickly. I have used it still frozen when I pollinated large amounts of plants, worked great.

Yes tetrazolium can be good although it only enables you to check whether you have viable cells but not if your pollen can germinate. If you work with big quantities you do increase your chances to get viable seeds even if the pollen is poor quality. I must say I never tried keeping cannabis pollen using these techniques, only used fresh pollen from males i'd test before and kept as clones but I work everyday with pollen from oil palm (know to be rather resistant as its a insect pollinated specie) that are kept that way and it works great. Lately we had some pollen sent from Africa which had a problem during shipping (even if well kept before) and germination rate was around 40% (loss of more of less 50% viability in a 15h trip!).

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

bonbolos,
What is the pollinator of the Coco de Mer?
I imported a few dozen into Kauai, 20 years ago alive as coconuts and some grew fine.
They are getting old enough to show sex soon, hope I have both a girls and boys.
Any ideas what does the deed?

-SamS

 

[kal el]

I have mixed it with flower and kept in freezer, used 1 to 2 years later.

 

[audioaddict]

bonbolos,
What is the pollinator of the Coco de Mer?
-SamS

This still isn't fully understood, but the best educated guesses are Lizards, or just the elements (wind and rain)

 

[igrowone]

Sam many thanks, I have been wondering about the self defrosting freezers harming pollen as I keep some of mine in one that does. The last time I tried some of it I was unsucsessful..though I'm hit or miss most of the time anyway. Cheers..DD

i have a defrosting type freezer, kept my pollen good for about 2 years, but that's as far as it would go, 2 failed pollinations after that, so 2 years in the standard freezer?

 

[bonbolos]

bonbolos,
What is the pollinator of the Coco de Mer?
I imported a few dozen into Kauai, 20 years ago alive as coconuts and some grew fine.
They are getting old enough to show sex soon, hope I have both a girls and boys.
Any ideas what does the deed?

Geckos are very unlikely to be the pollinator animal. I'm no specialist but after a little research you can find this very good article explaining a lot on the subject (available in PDF) http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jb/2012/687832/abs/

 

[purple_man]

is it a theoretical question?

if i remember right, the coco de mer is pollinated by geckos...

and pollen stays viable as long as the environmental factors allow it, same goes for seeds...

another thing would be, if hypothetically one deep freezes prepared tissue of a male, which can be thawed and regenerated, acclimatized and utilized as a fresh pollen donor? or straight dehydrating the pollen to a certain humidity content and deep freezin it? 10 + years at least, if the cooling "chain" can be ensured

blessss
ps.: stop teasing sam let us know whats YOUR oldest viable protocol? please!

 

[Red Fang]

I started my own thread on a similar topic when I got inspired by this one. Everyone thinks the topics are one in the same I guess, I got no real answers. So forgive me, but I will ask here: how long can pollen remain viable in dried flowers? In my case, I am worried about accidental pollination. Can pollen released from a flower drying for 1+ month last in the air another month and create the undesired effect of pollinating clones that will be in flower by then?

 

[Atlantic Allele]

I have some Original Haze pollen that is 17 years old, collected, cleaned, dried over night, placed in a paper bindle's, and frozen in glass jars for 17 years.
When I used it recently I got normal seed set.
I have many, many, liters of pollen frozen, the oldest around 20+ years.

-SamS

Impressive.

 

[Amanita]

I have some Original Haze pollen that is 17 years old, collected, cleaned, dried over night, placed in a paper bindle's, and frozen in glass jars for 17 years.
When I used it recently I got normal seed set.
I have many, many, liters of pollen frozen, the oldest around 20+ years.

-SamS

I'm surprised freezing it didn't kill the cells through ice crystals. 17 years is a long time!

 

[herd]

quick question. if i put a platic bag over my male then transfer it into a different bag after getting rid of other plant material,allow it to dry would i then be able to put the bag in a foodsaver vac to get rid of unwanted air would this work. also im curiouse to how the gel caps worked.

thanks in advance

 

[GP73LPC]

great thread, thanks

 

[Mrgreenharvest]

what about non storage? if i did some breeding in a room, killed the male and pollen remained in the room, how long would that pollen stay alive?

would 1 week after be a safe measure if i was moving more plants in?