Abutilon theophrastii

[papabearjay]

Has anyone ever worked with velvetleaf?

[darrenabbey]

It is one of the plants I'm interested in working with via mutation breeding. I've collected seeds, but haven't really set to the project yet.

I am attracted to the pods which I figure would work well as green florist material with some improvement in that direction. What are your thoughts for directions to take?

[papabearjay]

Feb 24, 2015 20:32:34 GMT -5 darrenabbey said:

It is one of the plants I'm interested in working with via mutation breeding. I've collected seeds, but haven't really set to the project yet.

I am attracted to the pods which I figure would work well as green florist material with some improvement in that direction. What are your thoughts for directions to take?

What would be your method of choice?

[darrenabbey]

The details remain to be worked out. I favor the idea of using UV-mutagenesis for smaller seeds, as UV is easily contained and easy to manage. The seeds of A. theophrastii might be too large, but some experimentation would be needed to be sure. More energetic X-ray or chemical methods are feasible as well, but they would take much more care in the setup of the project.

[papabearjay]

I think it depends on what chemicals you decide to use. Many are perfectly "safe" if proper steps are implemented to protect your hands or face. Many can be used with just gloves and are easily handled, others less so and required filtered masks, ventilation, etc.

Again, depends on the chemical.

[darrenabbey]

I'm not terribly worried about the hazards during use, but rather the hazards associated with storage and disposal of the chemicals. I've also thought about building an electrically-driven X-ray source, though the spectrum of mutations it would produce are not so useful for the mutation-breeding efforts I imagine.

[darrenabbey]

The wikipedia page (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abutilon_theophrasti) suggests the plant is edible. The leaves as a pot-herb and the seeds in some way.