Setting off a new stock from root tips?

[TheOtherOne]

Ok, so I've been pretty busy lately... This year is one in 5 or so where it actually freezes more than maybe once. We got 5 freezes in about a week, 1 of them was in the 20's... I dug my "dead" plants, and a single of the turkish variety was completely alive under the mulch cover it was given. I took three clones in the way one would a potato, splitting the crown into 3 rough pieces and burying them in new soil. I then cleared them of most of the excess roots.
Ok, so here's the wierd part... When I was throwing out the roots I had trimmed back, I found two buds forming on the tiny outer roots, one of them died immediately, and the other one is now turning green, and a leaf is forming...\

Is this normal for a tobacco plant, or did frost or some mutation cause this?
Secondly, I now have 4 genetically identical plants, will this affect any possible seed that would be made?

 

[deluxestogie]

Dear The,
It is normal for tobacco roots to sprout suckers if the main stalk dies or is removed.

As for clones, a pure varietal tobacco is pretty much genetically the homozygous (very few meaningful genetic differences from one individual to the next). Although I wouldn't suggest your approach for someone selling seed, it should have no impact on your own use of the seed.

Bob

 

[TheOtherOne]

Yeah, no seed selling here, I was actually thinking of topping, and devoting a single plant to the task of becoming a clonal "parent" for a given strain.
I think it seems like a safe way to continue to grow a GM crop without risk of pollination, but that's still just a theory of mine.

Compared to the other three clones, taken from stem region sucker points, this fourth clone is from a root tip about 8 inches underground, the leaves curl facing away from the terminal bud, whereas every tobacco plant I've ever seen has leaves that curl inwards and fold out. Could it be that this fourth plant is some sort of Parasite that has attached itself to the root system? (Like mistletoe)

 

[squeezyjohn]

My concern would be that as the plant has already gone through one full growth cycle then the hormones for flowering and suckering would still be present and the next year the plant would simply bolt to flower without putting on any decent leaf growth.

That's purely a theory based on what I know from artificially overwintering other types of annual plants - not based on experience!

 

[TheOtherOne]

To the best of my knowledge, N. tobaccum and rustica are both photoperiodic perennials. I'm going off the assumption that it will behave like a potato, or geranium would in the same situation.

I guess we shall see!
http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/yeah-science-bitch-meme.jpg

 

[squeezyjohn]

That may well be the case ... I'm used to the fact that many of the plants we try to grow in the UK as annuals are perennials in their natural climate.

But I have noticed a very different behaviour in tobacco after flowering - in the way the plant attempts to branch and sucker and flower at every opportunity once the top flower has arrived and been cut off - I assume this is due to hormonal effects in the plant. We don't grow potatoes, tomatoes or geraniums for their leaf - so the analogy is not quite the same.

Whatever the outcome ... your experimentation can only improve our knowledge of the plant ... so please ignore my negativity.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I hadn't thought of increased suckering as a possible outcome of this. I can see that being difficult as I'm a mostly organic grower, and I don't use the suckering systemic.
Perhaps if someone who where using this chemical where to try this method it may yield a higher quality crop.
I'm adding a section in my notes about sucker development, and during the main season I'll be comparing the suckering rate of a seed grown plant, versus a clonal plant of the same strain.
I'm still trying to upload those pics >_<