From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Eugene,OR

What is a genetically engineered seed and how could it play a role in producing world record pumpkins?

4/17/2005 11:19:52 AM

Connecticut

It won't. It costs too much money at this time & the return on invested capitol could never be retrieved. I checked with a friend who owns a bio-engineering lab & he laughed at me. I did ask him for a quote which he declinbed to provide. This is because the geneticist is merely reducing the time to cause what nature (and growers) do naturally. The problem is that there is no saying a "desired standard" (whatever that standard is)could be obtained in any specific time-frame. Thus a quote would be difficult to obtain even for someone who is familiar with Cucurbita Sp.

4/17/2005 11:29:31 AM

Knopp, Germany

but i bet it will be tried one day. a fool and his money...

4/17/2005 11:35:36 AM

Connecticut

Take seed auction revenue as an example. If 100 growers all spend $100US at an auction the club grosses $10,000.00. This is NOT enough to finance such a project.

Now if half of the registered users here at BP each put up $100 we'd probably be looking at someting.

The key is to actually find value in the effort by establishing an all new & desirable strain of Cucurbita Maxima. ROIC is highly unlikely unless the investors formed a corporation & sold the results.

It is hard to quantify the value of a labor of love. Indeed the quest IS the *return* for most of us.

4/17/2005 12:31:03 PM

Udine, Italy

I’m not an expert but I think that first point is to know a gene for size and after to transfer in pumpkin. In my opinion no only one gene is involved in AG gigantism (ex. cells size, cells wall density etc.). I means that probably plant and fruit size are influenced by several genes and this means that breeding using GMO is difficult. First step shall be a genomic map of pumpkin DNA; second step knowledge’s of functional genomic, third step breeding. On the other hand may be that companies that study economic important crops are interested in discovery a “gigantism genes” of AG for breeding other species (obtainment of giant tomatoes, potatoes etc.); this could be a first approach to have genetic information’s about AG genes and markers for assisted breeding.
Paolo

4/17/2005 2:13:49 PM

Canada

Takes all the fun out of it!!

Dave

4/17/2005 5:55:29 PM

Oz

If you could feed people on 2000 lb fruits,
from a 20 ft plant,,
lol we would have more people!!!

add soy toufu and corn hooch and
ya got yer human,weapon of dat der mass disdruction,,,,,,

4/17/2005 6:43:06 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

I agree with DaveM.

Doug

4/18/2005 12:18:36 PM