To Jerry who said:
>The Arias family has spent a great deal of
money and made a huge effort to
>produce kovachii flasks and to produce may other Peruvian species from seed. Jerry, please, the latter is a myth and
probably another charming story, told you on your recent
visit to the Arias family business.
I am a "flasker" with twenty years
experience, I know a real laboratory, when I see one.
Manuel did not have one in the year 2000, when I
visited his premises.
The glove box was covered in a thick layer of
rust that one litter girl had
been
unable to clean up in the three hours I was
there.
Every orchid grower in Peru, who has known Manuel
Arias for decades as a collector
of orchids will tell you that Manuel
Arias Silva has never ever propagated any orchid
in-vitro.
Peruvians who have lots of experience propagating
orchids from seeds, all had
great difficulties propagating
Pk in-vitro.
Apparently Manolo went to England, not that long ago, for a quickie course in
in-vitro
propagation.
One has to believe Manolo that
he instantly, without practical experience, was successful in
propagating a thousand Pk flasks, or more, from
five legal Pk plants, known to produce
very few seed
capsules in captivity and to have very few seeds in each, many showing
no pro-embryo at all, just an empty
testa.
(Remember, I have a Peruvian friend who
collected the first five legal Pk plants, before
Arias came on the scene)
None of my Peruvian friends in orchids, who know
the Arias family very well, believe it,
neither do I.
.
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