Use of the term "clon" in horticulture

[Robert Dodier]

Hello,

I recall from a horticulture book that I would have read around 1978 (how time flies!) that they used the term "clon" to mean a tree or other plant that's propagated by asexual reproduction. I think their examples were fruit trees and the like. The book, if I recall correctly, was a little out of date even then -- it might have been published around 1960.

I've searched the web for "clon" but I can't find the term at all (except in Spanish). I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining it. Does anyone else remember "clon"? Print references would be very helpful.

Thanks for your help, Robert Dodier

[M. Tiefert]

I think you should be looking for "clone".

cheers,

Marj

[theoneflasehaddock]

They mean clone, not clon. Any asexual reproduction results in a plant which is a clone of the parent being produced.

-

theoneflasehaddock

[figaro]

The term is "clone" and basically just means taking a cutting to produce a clone of the original plant with the same genetics and attributes.

[Peter]

Look up "clone".

[escapee]

Not always and not usually. Clone of plant matter is generally done by selective tissue culture. It's a bit different than taking a cutting.

[Susantha]

probably the largest use of clonal cuttings in the world is in the Tea industry in Sri Lanka and India. Hundreds of thousands of tea shoot cuttings are taken from selected mother bushes and planted in nurseries for rooting. after rooting they are transferred in to small ploythene nursery bags and nurtured for about one year till they have develped into 12 inch plants. These plants are then planted out in the field at about 15000 plants per hectare. A ten hectare planting will therefore need about 150,000 plants and Sri Lanka plants about 5000 hectares each year.

[hortstudent]

The original word was "clon." I don't know when it was proposed. I know this because I just happened to pick up a volume of the journal "Science" from the 1920's or so when I was looking for something in the library, and I was flipping through it and I came across a small paragraph entitled "on the use of the word 'clon' in horticulture. The author was writing to suggest adding an "e" to the word because in english the long "o" sound is indicated by adding an "e" at the end of the word. Search the journal "Science" around the 1920's and you should come across the article.

[hortstudent]

OOPS! I was off by 15 years. Here are the references for the word "clon" that I was talking about-

1. New Horticultural and Agricultural Terms (in Shorter Articles) Herbert J. Webber Science, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 459. (Oct. 16, 1903), pp.

501-503.

1. On the Spelling of `Clon.' (in Discussion and Correspondence) Charles Louis Pollard Science, New Series, Vol. 22, No. 551. (Jul. 21, 1905), pp.

87-88.

[Cheryl Isaak]

Nope - scientifically, to clone is to reproduce the parent plant exactly. Cuttings do just that, just as tissue culture does. Cheryl

[escapee]

I said not always and not usually. I didn't say never. When new sports were found in our greenhouses, we'd do tissue culture clones to assure the differentiation was still evident in the cloned plant. If cuttings were taken of said sport, there are significant chances the plant can revert in characteristic. When cloned by tissue culture you are assured to have the sport perform as the original sport on the plant you took the culture of.

So, both are correct, but in the industry when something is asexually cloned it generally means it was reproduced by tissue culture to insure the anomaly.

Victoria

[theoneflasehaddock]

Then please explain to us how a cutting can change the genetic material of the plant, so that it won't be a clone.

-

theoneflasehaddock

[theoneflasehaddock]

Cuttings are ALWAYS genetically identical to the parent plant. The only way they would be different is if sexual reproduction is involved. Cuttings are not sexual reproduction.

When new sports were

Then it is controlled partially by either age of the plant, or conditions it is in, not pure genetics.

When cloned by tissue culture you are assured to have the

No, with cuttings you are assured to have it perform the same as the plant it came from. With tissue culture, you are assured to have it behave as a young clone (not a mature clone) of the plant it was taken from.

I don't know what you mean by anomaly, I assume you mean genetic conditions.

SOme conditions can't be preserved through tissue culture, because they are caused by the conditions the plant is in. Any genetic conditions are preserved through both cuttings and tissue culture of meristems.

-

theoneflasehaddock

[Cereus-validus]

It can't.

Many cultivars that have been propagated clonally for years may eventually lose their vigor when they become infected with viruses due to unsanitary propagation techniques or infestation of pathogens by insects.

Variegates and other chimeras can occur when the clonally propagated material are exposed to mutagens in the environment or are deliberately made to mutate with the use of chemicals.

[beeky]

Victoria,

Your greenhouses must have been in bizarro land. The situation is exactly the opposite as you describe. A rooted cutting is a clone. Plants raised from rooted cuttings may show some form of "reversion" but the genetic material that underlies the reversion came from the mother plant. On the other hand, tissue culture can produce genetic changes that result in plants that are genetically different than their parents, hence NOT clones.

--beeky

escapee wrote:

[eclectic]

(snip)

beeky,

This depends how you define "clone". If you hold that the horticultural meaning is that a clone is the descendant of a single plant by vegetative reproduction, then a rooted cutting would be a clone.

If you hold that the horticultural meaning is that a clone is the descendant of a single plant by vegetative reproduction which has the identical genetic makeup and attributes as the parent, then specific tissue from the parent may be required. i.e. African Violet chimeras can't be cloned true to form through rooting leaf cuttings. Either suckers are induced, or specific tissue from the parent is used in the propagation of genetically true offspring.

Regards.

[Gardñ]

[e-mail] (hortstudent) in news:18a7d3d3.0405110100.3d5379e1 @posting.google.com:

interesting 'obscure' topic anyway.

[Julie Rothwell]

CLONING 101

the term is clone it means to take a cutting of a grow shoot with a couple leaves and about 3-5 nodes(nodes are where new leaves or branches grow from main shoot.. you can clone very easily if you have a cloning gel such as Wilson's or woods.. it can be powder to but the gel works the best as it stays on and cant be over applied.. you must cut(razor blade sterile and cut on a diagonal) the clone to be about 5-7 inch and then immediately place in water or in cloning gel(stay dipped in gel for a few seconds) then plant in a tray in what ever medium you use , premium pro-mix BX is the best, YOU can used perlite vermiculite or jiffy pellets too.. just make sure medium is on the wet side and there is a dome over the cutting(clones) until they show roots . mist daily and make sure you keep the lid on under 24hour fluorescent lights. not much intensity is need for light (2x48" hanging florescent bulbs and tray, Canadian tire, wired complete for $13.99) but

24 hours works great the best 18 is the min though to stay in vegetative state. make sure the humidity is as high as possible 100% is ideal.. takes them 10-15 days before there is lots of roots.. you can use a seaweed spray or a b1 type nutrients but if you used nutrients make sure its at least 80% weaker than normal and use a higher phosphorus formula and lower nitrogen as this boosts root development... after you see your roots you can start to slowly remove the domes for a test period of 10-20mins..then an hour ..then over half a day .. after they hold up and don't go limp they are ready to plan.. this last process is called the Hardening off stage.. making it stand up to regular climate.. you must used a no wilt or anti-damping of solution in you initial soaking of the medium and in the spray bottle you will use for the misting.. good luck

mon chichi

----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Dodier" Newsgroups: rec.gardens,sci.agriculture Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 12:43 PM Subject: Use of the term "clon" in horticulture

[Mon Chi Chi]

wow I didn't realize that there are so many replies...next time I must see if there really is some one that need help before replying instead of being the 153rd person to get to the church that was on fire.. I guess I am not much help at this time

[Robert Dodier]

YES!!! You rock! This reference is exactly what I was looking for. Thank heavens for obscure references. 8^)

Let me know if I can ever return the favor.

regards, Robert Dodier