Keiki "production" in phals - Can it be genetically supressed? - Orchid Board

rbarata · #1 10-06-2016, 12:57 PM

Hello, my friends

I have two phals that I'd like to reproduce but never had keikis. Since it would be bad for the orchid production business, I wonder if the plants could have been "modified" to not do it.
By other hand, any of my phals have ever grown kekis so it could also be something in my environment.

PaphMadMan · #2 10-06-2016, 08:05 PM

It certainly is a trait that varies depending on the genetics of the plant, but I doubt it has been done deliberately to any major extent.

It is possible that Phals bred for many generations for cutflower or potted plant production have been indirectly selectively bred for less keiki production because plants that produce a lot of keikis would probably be avoided for breeding. I doubt it has been a major goal of breeding, but that doesn't mean the selection over generations wouldn't be very effective.

If you are wondering if some sort of artificial genetic engineering has been done, I'm almost certain that would never happen. It would be very expensive to even develop the methods and it just isn't necessary. As I said, it probably has happened to some extent without even specifically breeding for it.

gngrhill · #3 10-07-2016, 01:29 AM

I have never had one keiki on it's own, but have induced keikis with keiki paste.

Ray · #4 10-07-2016, 09:26 AM

Some species produce keikies by the score; others do not. I seriously doubt the hybrids have been line-bred to suppress that.

rbarata · #5 10-07-2016, 01:56 PM

Thank you for your replies...I guess I'll have to wait for them.

Fairorchids · #6 12-12-2016, 06:19 PM

Even species that readily produce keikis, rarely do so till the plant is mature.
The Taiwanese breed Phalaenopsis to bloom quickly, so they never get to see them as mature plants.

I can't see that this is on their horizon at all.

In other plant families (such as Hibiscus), it is common to hormone treat plants, so that stems grow leaves at very short intervals (1/10th the distance of untreated plants), and thus many more flowers on short branches.

orchidsarefun · #7 12-12-2016, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbarata

Thank you for your replies...I guess I'll have to wait for them.

You need to investigate the species background in your phals. Some species do not keiki - for example violacea, bellina. Some do - for example lueddemanniana and equestris. If your phals do have one of these predominant, it's still not certain. For example in my own cross TQ's Tracey, I've had one plant keiki - and that is 1 out of 50+ seedlings. Out of thousands of phals I've seen - shows, greenhouses and Hausermanns - I've never seen a hybrid phal with a keiki. They are rare.
I have an equestris that keikis at the end of every spent spike, but none of these keiki have ever keiki'd themselves.

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