Books about Hybridization and Micropropagation

[Cach26]

Hello everyone
Happy growing
I am looking for books related to hybridization and micropropagation in orchids.

I have heard about people who have discovered ways to maintain alvum forms in hybrids, or to get specific colors by choosing the plants properly.

I know that many of these things are "the secret of the house", but books like "Breeding dendrobiums in hawaii" have helped me a lot, I like to learn

[Fairorchids]

There are limited publications dedicated to these issues. The Dendrobium publication comes from the University of Hawaii, which has taken a direct interest since Dendrobiums are an important nursery crop in Hawaii.

You should be able to locate publication on micropropagation of orchids (& other plants), since that is a well established process.

As to hybridization & breeding, that is a matter of genetics, and there are virtually no books that I am aware of dedicated to this subject.

You will probably have to read your way through dozens of books in order to find bits and pieces of the information you are looking for scattered throughout the text.

Extremely simplified:
Tipo is dominant
Coerulea, flava, rubra & alba are all recessive.
By line breeding, you can improve on the recessive traits in 2 (or more) generations.

[Johndeaux22]

Lots of information in these two Cattleya Symposium videos:

https://youtu.be/ePl-c6W8ywQ?si=6UzIiqDl7aV_44RW

https://youtu.be/MAOsYLLCLIM?si=DmtUbrncvKC5DfMH

The first one mentions more than one book and author that will be of interest to you as well. All the information IS out there on the intarwebs…but your google fu will have to be spot on to get anywhere. Lots of research articles on specific protocols for specific species are available. I’d also check out the master classes offered by Plant Cell Technology.

[tmoney]

if your into breeding paphs, slipperorchids.info is a good resource for info on past crosses and pictures of offspring. deep dives into orchid roots or orchid whiz (are either still running?) can give insite into what traits are emphasised more by which plants. this is a LOT of work and time and yields limited results. dig deep into the pages for the orchids you want to cross on pages like this or slipper talk. look at millions of pictures and do the hard work of mapping ancestry.

honestly maybe your best bet is to talk to established breeders and get their knowledge. even then, unless you are a protege or understudy of some sort you probly will only get basics and platitudes, as the proprietary knowledge in orchid breeding seems to be closely guarded and bordering on shadow black magic type stuff. if you approach someone as a tourist just looking for the easy secrets you will get nowhere in this world. but, breeding orchids is a long term hobby so perhaps it is worth it to think about submitting yourself as an understudy (if a suitable mentor is available) and spend the time developing this sort of a relationship with someone. may not be easy if your in like Topeka or something. (or, you go it rogue like we are doing and expect a long hard road of failure and discouragement )

the couple old timers we've talked to have been more or less dismissive, and give the most basic, discouraging information. "you can only breed these plants", "you can't get good breeding stock so don't waste your time", etc. so yeah, im probly a bit salty on the topic myself and my experiences over the last couple years have shown me that the orchid world, in these particularly dark corners, can be a pretty uninviting place.

so best of luck!!!

[Louis_W]

"Home orchid growing" by Rebecca Northen.

This book sounds like real beginners guide but it is quite a good starting point for genetics. Mostly cattleya genetics. Highly reccommend

[Cach26]

Yes, I have talked to a few In Vitro Growers, and it seems that the knowledge and experience they have is like the holy grail in magnitude XD.

But with the books I am learning little by little, thanks for your suggestions and help.

[Cach26]

Hello to all

I was watching the videos, very informative.

I could not get the books that Mr. Roy recommended (Orchids Biology and Genome).

Where can I get them?

What books other than these can I study?

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by tmoney

even then, unless you are a protege or understudy of some sort you probably will only get basics and platitudes, as the proprietary knowledge in orchid breeding seems to be closely guarded and bordering on shadow black magic type stuff. if you approach someone as a tourist just looking for the easy secrets you will get nowhere in this world.

This is especially true with East Asia. It's partially a cultural thing, at least with China at one point.

If you were to ask someone

How do you breed for flower shape and leaf width for Cym. goeringii?

Or

How do you breed for sumi in Neo. falcata?

You're probably not going to get any answers. With the second question especially, it comes off as some kind black (ink) magic. At most you'll get

Breed the plants with the flower shape and width you like.

Kind of obvious, or for the second

Both parents need to have sumi.

Again, something you could probably have intuited on your own but doesn't answer the question of (for both)

How are new varieties made then if it's just that easy?