VFT Cultivars Seeds

[arvin555]

I would like to ask this question so that we have this topic as reference in the future, because I just saw a post from someone saying that he has some seeds of some VFT cultivars.

May I ask for confirmation if seeds from VFT cultivar seeds will actually give seedlings that have the same characteristics of the Cultivar? Example Akai ryu seeds will give Akai ryu seedlings?

Coz I read somewhere that for VFTs, seeds will 100% of the time give Common VFT seedlings only.

Please confirm which is true.

TTFN
Arvin

[Jonathan]

Hi Arvin...

As far as i know DM seeds don't carry the same genetic integrity...
for example a "Akai Ryu" seeding may produce red coloration but they may not assemble the parent plants because they don't carry the same gene from the parent plants...

Most of the cultivar you see in the market now are all from vegetative propagation to preserve the genetic integrity... which carry the same gene as the original plant and they grow the same way and looks the same...

I have limited knowledge in this... hope some expeart would explain more clearly...

Regards
Jonathan

[TS]

Yes, VFT seeds don't 100% pass on the trait from the mother plant, a red dragon's seed will probably come out to be a red plant that don't resemble the mother plant. As for other forms that the charactor is not too distinctive, you'll probably endup with typicals. The only way of getting the same plant is through leaf cutting, division or tissue culture.

[Khoas]

It is true that VFT cultivars do not breed true. Certain traits can breed through namely colouration and size. I have grown several plants from seeds produce through crossing cultivars and while the seedling usually are different from the cultivar, a few will be quite close to the form of the orginal.
One exception, in my option, is Royal Red. There is evidence this actually a variety which came from a wild population. My limited experenice with seedling of Royal Red it does breed true.

[arvin555]

Thanks guys!

Hey I'm in luck then, coz I have a few Royal reds in my collection, if they decide to flower for me, then I will surely try to cross pollenate them, though I am almost sure that the plants that I have are probably clones of each other (or come from the same clone, not sure what is the correct term for them).

I then also am happy that I picked royal red instead of Akai Ryu, though it is still part of my wish lish if oppurtunity to get one arises.

Thanks again everyone!
TTFN
Arvin

[edwardyeeks]

Best you can do is pollinate them ASAP so that you can get a lot of seeds. Well, 20% of the seeds usually have the resemblance of their mother plant but there is very, VERY slim chance that the seedling will be the exact duplicate of the mother plant. Except royal red.

I lost my first VFT today, completely dead after root rot. Sigh, perhaps I can get an akai ryu from fauzi. Sorry, totally off topic

Cheers

[tzestan]

It has to start from the basic building block of life, the DNA. Every gene in DNA comes in pairs. There are several hundred thousand pairs, with no less than millions of base bonds. All aspects of the features shown by the plant are regulated by genes it carries.

When flower is produced, the gene pairs are shuffled. Half goes to the pollen while the other half goes to the ovule. The gene in each seed is recombined from the pollen and ovule. Unless the original gene pairs are identical, which never be, every seed carries different gene set.

That's the reason seeds do not reproduce the same characteristics as the mother plant. Vegetative propagation only involves somatic cells, ie to gene recombination. Therefore, the plants are exactly identical, ignoring occasional mutations.

Hope it helps in the understanding..

[arvin555]

Thanks, yes that helps a lot. However I wonder if pollenating or cross pollenating 2 akai ryu will give an akai ryuish plant or will it revert back to a mostly green form? I'm guessing that it should have still a bit of red in it.

TTFN
Arvin

[marvin1997]

Oh....now I get it!

[tzestan]

Arvin, if both parent plants are of the same cultivar, you have a good chance to get offsprings resembling the parents. I would be interested to know the distribution of offspring types.