Lol, what a mouth-full! So, this is going to be one lengthy post and I will be updating it continuously over the next few years as the breeding program progresses.
First, a bit about myself: I'm just some guy. I'm not a scientist and I have no experience with bonsai. Everything I am about to attempt is theoretical and based on papers I've read over the last few decades. You see, I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time but never committed. Then, today, I bought all of the supplies and decided to jump in head-first.
Well, what is it that I'm wanting to do exactly? I want to breed plants. I want to create new varieties that people have never imagined. However, I live in China in a little box high up in the sky and, as such, cannot just plant a thousand plants our in my yard. My plan to get around this? BONSAI!
So, let's just jump into the fray, shall we?
The variety I will be using is Vitus Amurensis, the Amur Grape. It's very sour but is lacking in tannins and sugar. What I wish to do is to subject it to a treatment of chemical mutagens and selectively trim away normal growth whilst keeping the visually mutated growth. Then, after fruiting begins in a couple years, use the seeds from the fruits that are most desirable for wine making and restart the program. The old plants will be rooted out in the community, sold online, or given to friends. Finally, when I have the characteristics I want, I will induce polyploidism and then backcross to the diploid mother to produce seedless triploid grapes.
Simply put, I want to take these wild grapes and try to make them into a tiny, seedless, tannic, sour, and sweet wine grape.
Here's the process I'm planning on:
The Seeds
Grape seeds normally go through a dormancy period before sprouting and to get them to sprout without one requires special treatment.
Here's my planned treatment:
Bathe in distilled water for 12hr.
Then, remove and soak in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours (Approx. 1 mole I believe)
Next, I will remove the seeds and leave them under dripping tap water in a muslin cloth for twelve hours.
Then, I will put them into a bowl of 0.15% giberallic acid, 1% ethyl methanesulfonate, and water for 24 hours
After this, I will remove them, rinse with distilled water and refrigerate them at around 3 Celsius for a week.
The Grow Area
For the grow area, I will be using a commercial storage stand. 150*60*200 cm
The lights will be double row LED 36 watt full spectrum pink-white with an output of 167 umol. Each layer will contain two rows for a total of 334 umol for an area of 120 x 54 cm.
The seedlings will be potted in 21 count 54x28cm trays. Each plant will have a root growing area of around 6.5 x 6.5 x 5.5 cm.
They'll be rooted in a mixture of the local dirt and coco peat.
First, a bit about myself: I'm just some guy. I'm not a scientist and I have no experience with bonsai. Everything I am about to attempt is theoretical and based on papers I've read over the last few decades. You see, I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time but never committed. Then, today, I bought all of the supplies and decided to jump in head-first.
Well, what is it that I'm wanting to do exactly? I want to breed plants. I want to create new varieties that people have never imagined. However, I live in China in a little box high up in the sky and, as such, cannot just plant a thousand plants our in my yard. My plan to get around this? BONSAI!
So, let's just jump into the fray, shall we?
The variety I will be using is Vitus Amurensis, the Amur Grape. It's very sour but is lacking in tannins and sugar. What I wish to do is to subject it to a treatment of chemical mutagens and selectively trim away normal growth whilst keeping the visually mutated growth. Then, after fruiting begins in a couple years, use the seeds from the fruits that are most desirable for wine making and restart the program. The old plants will be rooted out in the community, sold online, or given to friends. Finally, when I have the characteristics I want, I will induce polyploidism and then backcross to the diploid mother to produce seedless triploid grapes.
Simply put, I want to take these wild grapes and try to make them into a tiny, seedless, tannic, sour, and sweet wine grape.
Here's the process I'm planning on:
The Seeds
Grape seeds normally go through a dormancy period before sprouting and to get them to sprout without one requires special treatment.
Here's my planned treatment:
Bathe in distilled water for 12hr.
Then, remove and soak in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours (Approx. 1 mole I believe)
Next, I will remove the seeds and leave them under dripping tap water in a muslin cloth for twelve hours.
Then, I will put them into a bowl of 0.15% giberallic acid, 1% ethyl methanesulfonate, and water for 24 hours
After this, I will remove them, rinse with distilled water and refrigerate them at around 3 Celsius for a week.
The Grow Area
For the grow area, I will be using a commercial storage stand. 150*60*200 cm
The lights will be double row LED 36 watt full spectrum pink-white with an output of 167 umol. Each layer will contain two rows for a total of 334 umol for an area of 120 x 54 cm.
The seedlings will be potted in 21 count 54x28cm trays. Each plant will have a root growing area of around 6.5 x 6.5 x 5.5 cm.
They'll be rooted in a mixture of the local dirt and coco peat.