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San Diego

what is the definition of a mutated plant anyway? Seems like every year, my plant will have some kind of abnormality somewhere. My 950 boyton is at 8 feet on the main, now some of the secondaries are showing an abnormality of double leaves. Now it's not a traditional double vine with two vines fused together with two tips, one vine, one tip, normal in everyway except instead of one stalk and leaf coming on every other side, it's two stalks and two leaves at one time (one leaf on one side and the other leaf on the opposite side). The main is normal, and many secondaries normal. IS this considered a mutated plant or not?:) Seems like so much inbreeding now, it's hard to grow a plant without any abnormalities. And lastly, I'm crossing with a 1061 with no abnormalities, is it ethical to give away my seeds next year and will it be passed on or what?:) Any comments are welcome. Jimmy

5/3/2005 12:38:54 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Good questions Jimmy.
Last year I had a plant where 3 secondaries terminated into a bunch of male flower buds. This happened when the secondaries got about 6 ft. long. The other secondaries grew normally, until I terminated them with a knife.

Doug

5/3/2005 5:32:13 PM

Montoursville, PA

Interesting questions, to a field that has no rules, controlls or checks, of value, on any member. There are no standards, of behavior or agriculture practices. Should there be? Could there be such rules?

As long as your seed produces fruit, in the top ten percent of the weight presently enjoyed, by the leading growers no one would give a hoot how or why it did what it did along the way, to finish.

We are just begining, to get organized, by creating a governing group that has developed elementary rules hoping, to improve the total sport. I'm sure there will be many indebth discussions and temporary conclusions within our governing body as time moves on.

Unless you have created a horrible monster that always does horrible things and always carries those traits forward I see no reason why your seed should be questioned. For has it not been said and said correctly that each, of the internal seed pockets are significantly different from all the others within one fruit? Without sending the seed out to growers how would you ever know? You could be sitting, on four, out of five lobes that will be the seed that equals any, of the other great seeds, that are so much enjoyed today.

The above possiblity is indeed just as possible as the double vining trait you speak with honest concern.

I seem to remember that Beachy once said no splitters were let out, of his patch or permitted, to finish, in his patch. Then there appeared a wild seed that has produced a whole bunch, of great fruit and at the same time a whole bunch, of spitters and spitters. Would we cull such a seed?

Hope the two I planted this spring are both good actors. Hope I have the nerve and skill, to finish them. For it is my belief that they have, to be half crazy seed, to approach the top desired weights, of this day.

5/3/2005 9:25:26 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

mutant

1. biology change in genetic material: a random change in a gene or chromosome resulting in a new trait or characteristic that can be inherited. Mutation can be a source of beneficial genetic variation, or it can be neutral or harmful in effect.

2. biology See mutant n.1

3. alteration: the action or process of changing something or of being changed

Basically, mutation, no. Strange, yes... but I'll bet you
that your plant inherited whatever it inherited. It's perhaps
an unimportant distinction to some, but if you were to talk
to a geneticist about this, it's important to get the
terminology straight.

As I understand it, a mutation is something that starts out
as SOMETHING, then randomly changes to another. A plant
doesn't inherit a mutation. Now, we see this sort of thing
in our AG lines... but if it were a mutation then we would
all be seeing the exact same mutation or similar mutations
each time we see such a thing. This is highly unlikely.

Basically, your plant inherited what it did. In the process
of combining genes from each parent, perhaps something didn't
click right. This may be some sort of anomaly, but not a
"mutation".

Not trying to be a pain here, but I think we use the term
mutation too much....

Thank you, now I shall descend from my soap box.... ;-)

5/3/2005 10:24:00 PM

Ohio

It might just be better for the fruit, maybe you will get double the roots at them nodes.

Brooks

5/3/2005 10:42:44 PM

Chico, Ca

We grew our 674.5 squash on a plant that had two and three leafs per node and two females per node. Great plant, grew big and had no other faults. The squash was gaining 25 lb a day until we had a two week 110F hot spell that slowed it down.As long as the fruit is sound who cares what the plant looked like. If you grew a 1500lb'r on a plant that flatvined, I'll bet everybody and their brother would still want seed and try to grow it....It is not a beauty contest.

5/3/2005 10:57:10 PM

Cameron,ontario Team Lunatic

Jimmy, my 842 Eaton did the same thing last year. It only did it for about 4 leaves and then went back to normal. I grew a 839# pumpkin on it. Good luck.

Phil

5/4/2005 6:43:57 AM