So...You Want to Breed Your Own Hops.

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Would ethanol work post germination or is that something that you have to do prior to germination?

How about Isopropyl alcohol? would that work is the alcohol percentage too low or is the alcohol type not as effective?

One more question. Once seeds start to germinate about how long after should you see true leaves?
 
I would recommend doing it prior to germination, as the radicle (emerging root) will be looking for moisture and ethanol will dry out the radicle.

Any form of alcohol should work, but the lower the percentage, the longer you'll have to treat the seeds.

I can't say positively, as some were quite rapid, and others have taken lots of time. It varies...
 
I've gotten 7 seeds to germinate so far. I have transferred the germinated seeds into little Jiffy Pellets.

I place the germinated seed in the opening at the top of the pellet and covered it with a tiny bit of dirt so that the seed won't be exposed.

However I am not seeing any growth at all. I wonder if I am doing something wrong. It seems like my seeds germinate and then they just don't grow anymore after I plant them.
 
brewerelated said:
I've gotten 7 seeds to germinate so far. I have transferred the germinated seeds into little Jiffy Pellets.

I place the germinated seed in the opening at the top of the pellet and covered it with a tiny bit of dirt so that the seed won't be exposed.

However I am not seeing any growth at all. I wonder if I am doing something wrong. It seems like my seeds germinate and then they just don't grow anymore after I plant them.
Click to expand...


Don't worry, I you were gently and haven't broke them while putting them in Jiffy, they sometimes take around 1 week to show up.
 
brewerelated said:
One more question. Once seeds start to germinate about how long after should you see true leaves?
Click to expand...

The 4 cell tray on the right was planted 4/12, as you can see, like PBJ said it varies. The 3 seem to be about the same height and the 4th is just taking it's time.

2011-03-11 09.02.51.jpg
 
70 seedlings as of this morning. I'll need to double-check the number of families involved, but it'll be a good season.


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alane1 said:
Is anyone having problems with aphids?
Click to expand...

Aphids are not out here, still cold at night. Not all trees have their leaves yet, in fact leave's buds on trees are only starting to wake up. My hop plants are outside eaven if it's cold at night...few leaves died or wrinkled a bit but the general health of my plants is ok after their first week outside.

I have a few hop leaves that are lightly eaten by slugs.
 
DarkCoder said:
Aphids are not out here, still cold at night. Not all trees have their leaves yet, in fact leave's buds on trees are only starting to wake up. My hop plants are outside eaven if it's cold at night...few leaves died or wrinkled a bit but the general health of my plants is ok after their first week outside.



I have a few hop leaves that are lightly eaten by slugs.
Click to expand...


No aphids here either, I'm about in the same boat as DC though, all my stuff has only awaken over the past 2 weeks or so.


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85 seedlings across 11 families today. I best hurry up and get my "breeding grounds" situation fixed.
 
It was 101 yesterday and it will 100 degrees today. There are aphids and spider mites on some of my plants, but I also have some lady bugs roaming around. I took a napkin and removed as much of the spider mites as I could and I misted them a little bit with a spray bottle. I read on the internet that spider mites love hot temperatures and hate water.

It doesn't look like any of my seedlings are going to survive. Not exactly sure why. I suspect that there is too much humidity or that I watered them too much. I am not sure. I need to get a male plant so I can produce my own supply of seeds. That way I can try this again and again until I figure out what I am doing wrong.
 
brewerelated said:
It was 101 yesterday and it will 100 degrees today. There are aphids and spider mites on some of my plants, but I also have some lady bugs roaming around. I took a napkin and removed as much of the spider mites as I could and I misted them a little bit with a spray bottle. I read on the internet that spider mites love hot temperatures and hate water.

It doesn't look like any of my seedlings are going to survive. Not exactly sure why. I suspect that there is too much humidity or that I watered them too much. I am not sure. I need to get a male plant so I can produce my own supply of seeds. That way I can try this again and again until I figure out what I am doing wrong.
Click to expand...

If I get any this year I'll send you some pollen.
 
This might be straying from the thread a little bit, but I have a question about rooted cuttings and sunlight. I have some cuttings that I have successfully rooted.

I rooted them in rock wool cubes and then I transferred them to pots with potting mix. I started the cutting a week and a half ago. When should you start giving them sunlight?

I've had them on a window sill while I waited for them to root. I did not give them any direct sunlight.

Once they rooted I transferred them to a pot and I moved them outside into the shade where they get a little bit of indirect sunlight.

I haven't seen any new bines grow yet. There is just some root growth. The one leaf that the original cutting had is still there, but its starting to turn yellow and brown slightly.

Also how deep should you bury the cutting after it roots. My cutting has only one node and after I transferred the cutting to the pots I buried the one node under a little potting mix. I have the leaf and a little bit of stem sticking out of the potting mix. Check out my picture.

IMG_20140525_123148.jpg
 
brewerelated said:
This might be straying from the thread a little bit, but I have a question about rooted cuttings and sunlight. I have some cuttings that I have successfully rooted.

I rooted them in rock wool cubes and then I transferred them to pots with potting mix. I started the cutting a week and a half ago. When should you start giving them sunlight?

I've had them on a window sill while I waited for them to root. I did not give them any direct sunlight.

Once they rooted I transferred them to a pot and I moved them outside into the shade where they get a little bit of indirect sunlight.

I haven't seen any new bines grow yet. There is just some root growth. The one leaf that the original cutting had is still there, but its starting to turn yellow and brown slightly.

Also how deep should you bury the cutting after it roots. My cutting has only one node and after I transferred the cutting to the pots I buried the one node under a little potting mix. I have the leaf and a little bit of stem sticking out of the potting mix. Check out my picture.
Click to expand...


I have wait almost 2 weeks to put them where they get direct sunlight almost all day long. Before that, they were receiving only the sunlight from 4PM to 5PM. But you are in California, I guess that sun rays are "stronger" there...
 
DarkCoder said:
I have wait almost 2 weeks to put them where they get direct sunlight almost all day long. Before that, they were receiving only the sunlight from 4PM to 5PM. But you are in California, I guess that sun rays are "stronger" there...
Click to expand...

It was over 100 Fahrenheit (37.78 C) last week for two days straight. It has since cooled down drastically to about 70 F (21.11 C) for the last 3 days.

I brought the plants outside when the weather cooled down. I still haven't put them in the direct sun though even with the cool weather. They've only been expose to direct sun for about 20 to 30 minutes once or twice.

How long does it take before you see new bine growth? The cutting seems to be holding steady. The leaf has been browing/yellowing at a very slow rate. I don't see any new bines growing yet, but I hope that the roots are continuing to grow since being place in the new potting mix. Should I mist them at all or should the plant be able to get moisture from its roots exclusively at this point?
 
brewerelated said:
It was over 100 Fahrenheit (37.78 C) last week for two days straight. It has since cooled down drastically to about 70 F (21.11 C) for the last 3 days.

I brought the plants outside when the weather cooled down. I still haven't put them in the direct sun though even with the cool weather. They've only been expose to direct sun for about 20 to 30 minutes once or twice.

How long does it take before you see new bine growth? The cutting seems to be holding steady. The leaf has been browing/yellowing at a very slow rate. I don't see any new bines growing yet, but I hope that the roots are continuing to grow since being place in the new potting mix. Should I mist them at all or should the plant be able to get moisture from its roots exclusively at this point?
Click to expand...

They should be able to get what they need from their roots. My cuttings are not all "growing new bines" yet (side arms buds on your cutting will start to grow and become the new bine). My cuttings have been outside in pots for almost 3 weeks now.
 
I've had success with cuttings by using root hormone, a sterile media and a weak light source( I.E. cool white flourescent) on a 24/0 cycle. I would mist the leaves with a spray bottle often. from what I remember you can move them to direct sunlight after the plant develops new foliage.
 
brewerelated said:
This might be straying from the thread a little bit, but I have a question about rooted cuttings and sunlight. I have some cuttings that I have successfully rooted.

I rooted them in rock wool cubes and then I transferred them to pots with potting mix. I started the cutting a week and a half ago. When should you start giving them sunlight?

I've had them on a window sill while I waited for them to root. I did not give them any direct sunlight.

Once they rooted I transferred them to a pot and I moved them outside into the shade where they get a little bit of indirect sunlight.

I haven't seen any new bines grow yet. There is just some root growth. The one leaf that the original cutting had is still there, but its starting to turn yellow and brown slightly.

Also how deep should you bury the cutting after it roots. My cutting has only one node and after I transferred the cutting to the pots I buried the one node under a little potting mix. I have the leaf and a little bit of stem sticking out of the potting mix. Check out my picture.
Click to expand...

I don't mean a debbie-downer but...I've run into this issue before. Single-node cuttings do work! Herein lies the issue with single-node cuttings, is that that one node is now doing twice the work. Part of it has to differentiate into a shoot, and the other roots. Whereas two-node cuttings have the capacity to have one node performing each job.

If you'll remember those photos I posted previously of thee rooted cuttings you'll notice the areas on the lower portion of the stem that appear blanched. That is the original lower of two nodes that was placed beneath the soil surface that differentiated into the crown and root system.

So here lies the concern, you now need to provide the plant enough time to fully develop these systems, which will require greater time due to the lack of extra nodes to differentiate.

Feel free to ask questions if this doesn't make sense...I can draw it out too...
 
alane1 said:
I've had success with cuttings by using root hormone, a sterile media and a weak light source( I.E. cool white flourescent) on a 24/0 cycle. I would mist the leaves with a spray bottle often. from what I remember you can move them to direct sunlight after the plant develops new foliage.
Click to expand...

How many nodes were on your cuttings?
 
Sorry for the burst of action my fellow breeders, but things have been busy lately. I've been working on establishing an area solely for the seedlings, which has required extensive work on my part. Building a raised bed, transplanting, buying materials, etc.

That and catching up on yard work, etc.

I'll be bringing home more seedlings in the near future, and hardening them off and planting them out. Things might be tight for a bit. I'll check in with pictures as soon as I can.
 
PapaBearJay said:
I don't mean a debbie-downer but...I've run into this issue before. Single-node cuttings do work! Herein lies the issue with single-node cuttings, is that that one node is now doing twice the work. Part of it has to differentiate into a shoot, and the other roots. Whereas two-node cuttings have the capacity to have one node performing each job.

If you'll remember those photos I posted previously of thee rooted cuttings you'll notice the areas on the lower portion of the stem that appear blanched. That is the original lower of two nodes that was placed beneath the soil surface that differentiated into the crown and root system.

So here lies the concern, you now need to provide the plant enough time to fully develop these systems, which will require greater time due to the lack of extra nodes to differentiate.

Feel free to ask questions if this doesn't make sense...I can draw it out too...
Click to expand...

I was debating whether to use one ore two nodes for the cutting. I was also wondering if I should leave one leaf or two leaves or two half leaves. With two nodes I imagine you would completely strip the lower node of leaves.

With the cutting only being a week and a half old and without any new bind growth yet, should I keep them away from direct sunlight? I don't have access to grow lights though. I've never really grown anything indoors. At the moment I just have the pots in the shade where they get some indirect light.
 
When rooting cuttings, I'll cut a 1-1.5 foot section of plant. Usually that would have three to six leaf nodes. I pinch off the growing tip and leave the rest alone. Then I'll dig a diagonal trench in some soil outside (usually among my other hop plants) maybe six to eight inches deep and lay the cutting in it with the growth-tip end and at least one set of leaves exposed to sun light. Then I just water it as I would the established hops (in my area, that's almost every day). Without much fuss, almost all of these cuttings will take off. They usually suffer a bit for the first two weeks or so, then you see new laterals growing, which you can train up a line.

I dedicate a big pot or to these starters, a hop nursery of sorts. In the picture you can see one for some new Nugget plants. All of these started as cuttings. You can see, if you look close, where the growth tips were pinched off and where new laterals are forming.

IMG_0697.jpg
 
Has anyone filled out or made changing to the spreadsheet yet? I'd like some input from others. I'll be working slowly on collecting info from my own plants and seedlings.


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Lot of pages to read though so forgive me if I've missed something. One of the problems with breeding hops at home is lack of access to male plants - and the difficult in identifying worthwhile traits in the male line.

I'm wondering if anyone's borrowed a trick from breeders of the hops naughtier cousin and used silver thiosulphate to raise pollen from a female plant.

My bines ( bramling cross and mathon whitebine ) were only planted this year but I'm planning next year on trying the trick and crossing to a spicier more modern variety ( yet to be chosen ).

One advantage of this approach is you shouldn't get any males and as the subsequent plants are produced by cloning that isn't a problem.

Surely commercial breeders are doing this already?
 
I'm sure breeder's have developed a number of methods and made use of several more to increase chances of creating similar plants, but that said, it by no means is always successful.


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Microscopist said:
Lot of pages to read though so forgive me if I've missed something. One of the problems with breeding hops at home is lack of access to male plants - and the difficult in identifying worthwhile traits in the male line.

I'm wondering if anyone's borrowed a trick from breeders of the hops naughtier cousin and used silver thiosulphate to raise pollen from a female plant.

My bines ( bramling cross and mathon whitebine ) were only planted this year but I'm planning next year on trying the trick and crossing to a spicier more modern variety ( yet to be chosen ).

One advantage of this approach is you shouldn't get any males and as the subsequent plants are produced by cloning that isn't a problem.

Surely commercial breeders are doing this already?
Click to expand...

There is a person who tried colloidal silver:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/growing-hops-seed-397219/index2.html

Now tell us more about Mathon Whitebine. I have never heard of that variety.
 
There is a person who tried colloidal silver
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would be me.

I was told again and again by growers and breeders that induced flowers wouldn't produce viable pollen... This seemed strange to me. So, for the past few years, I've tried pollinating with both natural and silver induced feminized pollen. After about a dozens failures, I had success last year.

The successful pollen was from a naturally induced hermi, but I have no reason to believe that it wouldn't also work using silver.
 
How has the season been so far for everyone? We've had a lot of rain here, with more on the way it seems. I've had some losses with quite a few seedlings, but I'm hoping that is over with. I'm still working on getting posts erected for my "breeding grounds", but otherwise things are doing okay. I'm working out some computational kinks right now with some software but hopefully the issues will be resolved soon.

Anyone else still having issues with pests or diseases?


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