|
part 1 of 2
Many books could be written, about all that has happened with and around
Phragmipedium kovachii, since its discovery four years ago.
In 1990, Manual Arias Silva had a flasking facility. In 1996 he stated
in a lecture that he had stopped his in-vitro propagation of orchids,
due to certain difficulties he faced running a laboratory. In 2000, when I and
two Peruvian friends had a three hours tour of the Arias orchid growing
facilities in Lima, guided by Manuel, he showed us a tiny room,
possibly used for flasking a long time ago, but non-functional then.
In December of 2004, Manuel Arias told one of
my Peruvian friends that all the Phragmipediums he exported in
2004, with INRENA permits, were propagated by
division from the large number of Mother plants he collected prior to the time
CITES was enforced.
In May of 2003, when Manuel Arias obtained INRENA permit 002 to
collect his five legal Pk plants from the habitat for the purpose of
in-vitro propagation, he did not have a functioning laboratory. Though
I informed INRENA of several orchid laboratories in Lima that
were perfectly capable of starting Pk propagation in 2002, they were not
issued a permit..
It was not until November 2003 that Manuel invested heavily
in a new laboratory, by purchasing laminar flow hood units from Singapore. He
then started a massive program of in-vitro
culture, after some members of his family, or staff, were invited to learn
in-vitro propagation techniques
in England. Peruvian species orchids propagated from seeds in
November of 2003, will not be full size plants today, October 2006.
Bill, it really does not matter today that Arias did some
flasking in the 80's. The Moores are correct, it is impossible for the 352
full size orchid species, offered for sale by Arias today, to have been started
from seeds in their laboratory that opened less than three years ago.
|
_______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
