Pass the scalpel please Igor

[897tgigvib]

Friends at Monsanto?

Mr. Monsanto thinks he's a little napoleon trying to conquer the world.

I have actually worked at a set of greenhouses that size. In Santa Rosa, only for a few months. Section I worked in we grew Wheat Sprouts that was then juiced. I did not seem to know enough spanish...

 

[bobm]

When one is flying to Indianapolis at night , the pilots use the light coming from the greenhouses at Dow Chemical as a guide to the airport from many miles away. Since I have friends in high places there , I was allowed to go into sterile research labs where research is done on a molecular scale by scientists using very powerful computers , microscopes, and robotics to handle molecules / single cells from plants into growing media gels.

 

[catjac1975]

I have crossed orchids and gotten quite a lot of seed. I stopped short of germinating it as it needs the mad science that you are doing. Also the length of time to a bloom would be too much for me. Too much on my plate to branch out in another direction. Please keep us posted and I will clone vicariously through you. Fantastic!!!!!!!

 

[catjac1975]

I believe that is one of the primary uses, and also hybridizing. It is plant production on an industrial scale. When I was researching growing olives in the greenhouse I found a site for one of the largest olive nurseries in the country. Marshall, their greenhouses are the size of football fields, with thousand of seedlings in each greenhouse. The site showed them producing plants by tissue culture. Olives, as they live for a thousand years, do nothing in a hurry, so I thought that anything that would speed up the process would be worth looking into. My guess would be our friends at Monsanto are experts at this technique.

jackb

Monsanto does a lot of wonderful science that cannot be ignored. It is their ruthless crushing of their tiny bit of competition that I find the most abhorrent. I saw a special on TV about the seed saving farmers that they put out of business. They sue farmers, not because they can win, but they crush them with lawyer costs. The political connections that were pointed out were eye opening and dream crushing.

 

[so lucky]

Monsanto does a lot of wonderful science that cannot be ignored. It is their ruthless crushing of their tiny bit of competition that I find the most abhorrent. I saw a special on TV about the seed saving farmers that they put out of business. They sue farmers, not because they can win, but they crush them with lawyer costs. The political connections that were pointed out were eye opening and dream crushing.

I think the only way a "little guy" can win against a big concern like Monsanto is if lots of other "little guys" get behind him and give financial aid. Being friends with a lawyer would help too.

 

[catjac1975]

I think the only way a "little guy" can win against a big concern like Monsanto is if lots of other "little guys" get behind him and give financial aid. Being friends with a lawyer would help too.

There are not enough little guys. They went after a bean cleaner who used his old machine to clean soybeans for the farmers to use the following year. He lost his customers. Lifetime friends are afraid to even talk to him. They crush their livelihood.There are 8 seed cleaners in his state, (forgot which state) where there used to be tens of thousands of the machines.

 

[baymule]

Jack, you are awesome. What's next? Monsanto has already beat you to Frankenplants, so you will have to step it up......

 

[jackb]

Out of curiosity I am trying another TC experiment. When cloning olives the standard procedure is to use semi-hardwood cuttings 1/4" to 1/2" in diameter. Frequent misting and bottom heat are also recommended, and, the process can take from 2 to 6 months, or longer, and is not always successful. I was thinking that the plant is sending growing instructions and energy to the tips, so why not try cloning a tip using the same process as growing tissue. Today I removed growing tips from branches of an Arbequina and Taggiasca, sterilized them and placed them in a vial of gel to culture. I cut the leaf tips on the Arbequina cutting so I could tell which one was which. It should be interesting, and if it fails, it fails, but I will have learned something in the process.

jackb

 

[897tgigvib]

I'm thinking apical meristem tissue will enjoy the highest rate of successful propagation!

Because that is the region where cells not only divide, but where undifferentiated cells segregate into many cell types. Watch for rapid growth there Jack!

 

[jackb]

When I got my first plant I tried rooting the tips, as it seemed to make sense, but it was a dismal failure. Within a few days the few remaining leaves fell off and the cutting died. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference. The cutting is sealed in the vial with nutrients and I can see condensation of the sides of the vial. It is in its own little world and watering and misting are not required. Also, I moved all of the vials from the T5 to a 90 watt red/blue/white LED to really move the process along. Time will tell...

jackb