AusBonsai

Has anyone got cones developing on Japanese Black or red pines?
I have supplied some pines to a guy from Sydney Uni who is doing research into mycorrhiza on pines . He needs more plants, ideally without and wild fungi on the roots and is looking for a source.

This is the bit I found most interesting:

I now have the equipment to clone plants using a process called somatic embryogenesis, where we take seeds from an immature pine cone and culture the cells to produce up to 3000 plantlets per seed. The hard bit is getting my hands on immature pine cones to get the starting material. Do you have any green P. densiflora or P. thunbergii pine cones on your trees?

I don't have any cones on my trees here but told him I'd ask all of you. He's happy to pay a fair price for cones or to supply some of the seedlings back to donors. If you have green cones on any trees and would be interested in participating send me a PM and I'll pass on Tom's contact details.

Get onto Baloc, he leaves cones on all his trees that aren't in bonsai pots


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Will seeds do? 3,000% seems a pretty good ROI!

Hi shibui

This process sounds a lot like tissue culture. Do you know if it is the same. We used to get tissue culture plants supplied to a wholesale nursery I worked in for replica plants like chameleon rose and some if the gerbera hybrids. It's the way to go but from miry expensive to get set up. I think there was a company called biotech that supplied ours.

I have some undeveloped cones but only about 5 or so. Not sure if that's enough to make it worthwhile.
Squizz

3,000% seems a pretty good ROI!

That was my thought also Scott. He is specifying green seed from unopened cones which may have to do with them being sterile or at least uncontaminated.

This process sounds a lot like tissue culture. Do you know if it is the same.

This is from Tom's email:

I now have the equipment to clone plants using a process called somatic embryogenesis,

I'm guessing it is a form of tissue culture but using the embryo of the seed rather than the meristem from the growing tip of an existing plant.
At a rate of 3000 per seed I think even 1 cone would be useful Squizzy.
We already have 2 offers of green cones from Ausbonsai members and Tom has been most grateful for the help. We'll try to remember to let you know the outcome.

Cheers shibui,

Hope it works out for him. Sounds like a good way to get clones from good stock. I wonder if they could tissue culture from plants with better qualities to provide better stock?

Squizz

Sounds like a good way to get clones from good stock. I wonder if they could tissue culture from plants with better qualities to provide better stock?

It would be a good way to get numbers of a superior clone but that's not what this research is about. Tom is working to find out which strains of myccorhiza can help the tree grow better and faster and then to market and sell the best forms. He is working with both JBP and red pine. A couple of Ausbonsai members have offered JBP cones but so far no sources of Japanese Red Pines.
Anyone know where he could get some Japanese red pine cones?