Hi Simon, I’ve been reading this thread as of late and find it very interesting. Your photos with labels on the flowers’ stalks caught my eye the other day, since I too, did some labeling starting this year’s flowering season. But, I don’t have a well defined methodology, goals and ambitions nor the scientific background like you though, but simply put, I am just trying to get a better fruit with any combinations flower/pollen that I have on hand.
Since my 5 annona trees with multiple varieties scions on them are gotten a little bigger this year, thus giving me more pollens to work with, I’ve been doing some selective hand pollinations myself, that is:
1.pollinating the flowers of a variety with it’s own variety pollens: hoping to produce the true fruits of such variety
2. pollinating the flowers of a variety with different variety pollens:
hoping to produce superior fruits of such combination. (and yes, I do the reversed procedure as well).
I label each pollinated flower’s stalks with my abbreviation letters showing the donor’s pollens origin. (I know the pollinated flower’s variety from where it is hanging at which branch).
So, yes, I have multiple pollen containers and individual separate brushes for them. And to help reduce some possible errors, I do this routine since the beginning of this year’s flowering season, (not enough flowers/pollens to play with last year) so hopefully I will have several fruits to compare; observe and to take notes/photos on from these varied combinations when harvesting time comes.
Who knows…, if such a variety combination in my yard can produce a new hybrid that is superior to that of it’s original named variety, whether that be superiority in taste, size, form, color, skin; seed counts or …?
Thanks for sharing this annona breeding research Simon, I know we can all benefit from your effort!
Note: The varieties that I’ve been working on primarily are: African Pride, El Bumpo, Orton, Doctor White and “Ausie" Atemoya.
Thanks for sharing your annona breeding experiments Simon, I know we can all benefit from your effort!