# Does Pollen Have A Shelf Life?



## The Effen Gee (Mar 2, 2008)

Personally I think everything has a shelf life.

Pollen I would assume can remain genetically stable for a long period of time...perhaps a half century if bagged up and stored properley. 

Indefinately if frozen...


Anyone know for sure?

I'd like to know for a breeding operation I have a-brewin' in my head...


HMMMMMM.......


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## Wise Man (Mar 2, 2008)

Not to sure,but if your gona breed probably be best if the pollen is used just after it's cut.


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## jjsunderground (Mar 2, 2008)

pollen is only good for about 5 months max completely dry and in the freezer.

so i read in the grow bible!


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## Hick (Mar 2, 2008)

I have successfully stored pollen for "one" year, by mixing 50% flour, and freezing in film canister. I've also had pollen go sterile after only a few months, stored identically...?
  It can only be defrosted "once", so if you plan to use it in multiple stages/grows, best if stored in individual/multiple packets.


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## godtea (Mar 2, 2008)

If your pollenating you don't need to store it for too long .Your next generation isn't going to be all female.


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## The Effen Gee (Mar 2, 2008)

Thanks for the feedback.

I can safely assume that the pollen will keep as long as I need it to.


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## screwdriver (Mar 3, 2008)

The Effen Gee said:
			
		

> Thanks for the feedback.
> 
> I can safely assume that the pollen will keep as long as I need it to.


I wouldn't assume that.

The longest I have had it last  was 6 months. The next time I used it was, I think, at the 9 month mark and it didn't work.  My storage way was erratic and didn't really store, in the best way, the whole time.  Other pollen of mine has lasted only a month.

In my case, I feel I didn't remove enough moisture from the vial before storage.  The one thing I noticed, in all my pollen, was the bright yellow, almost fluorencent, vialble pollen changed to a dull yellow when I was no longer able to get seeds from using it.


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## The Effen Gee (Mar 3, 2008)

Guess It really depends on storage. I will try three different methods with a glass jar @ room temp as a control. The others will be sealed in a plastic vial and frozen in a freezer box and the other will be placed in a baggie made of cellophane and heat sealed then stored in the cupboard. 


We will see in time which way is the most successful.

I will also wait till later in pollen production to harvest, maybe the first two weeks may be best.

I will keep this thread updated on this as soon as I have pollen to work with. 

(about 65 days from now or so)


-FNG


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## HVHY (Mar 4, 2008)

I don't know if this is true for pollen but for other things it is best to remove as much air as possible from whatever you are storing said item in, as the oxygen in the air will destroy whatever you are trying to store. Even super anti-oxidants will be destroyed if left in the air for to long. the safest way to think about something is that everything that is organic has a shelf life for the reason that it will be broken down by free radicals.


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 4, 2008)

as hick says its best to store with a decantir like flour or rice.  i have kept pollen for around 9-10 months keeping it in a fridge in a black film canister never freezing....using uncooked rice, longgrian.


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## godtea (Mar 5, 2008)

Freezeing it isn't a good idea ,the ice crystals formed tend to disrupt the cell wall destroying it .
Better to keep it near to but not at freeze.


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 5, 2008)

LOVE you avatar tea


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## godtea (Mar 5, 2008)

Found this on another site:
Quote:
In order to store pollen for long periods of time, it is important to remove as much of the water content in the pollen as possible. Store the pollen in a glass jar or vial, avoiding plastic bags, which can breathe and are not the best for long-term storage. To reduce the water content in the pollen, place some desiccant in the bottom of the container. I use an indicating desiccant. When dry, this material is blue; as it absorbs moisture, it turns pink. By using an indicating desiccant, you can tell when it has absorbed all the moisture it can. It is impossible to tell whether regular desiccant is still dry just by looking at it. Once indicating desiccant has absorbed all the moisture possible, it turns pink. Place it in the oven and bake it until it turns blue again. This desiccant can be used over and over again. The amount of desiccant you use depends on the amount of pollen you are trying to dry out. I have found that 1/2 - 1" in the bottom of the container works well. The paper packets are then placed on top of the desiccant. By using paper packets, which can breathe, the desiccant can do its job. Instead of using one big packet for all of your pollen, place the pollen in small packets so one packet can be removed quickly without disturbing the unused pollen. I try to put enough pollen in each packet to pollinate a single cone once. If you plan to pollinate the same cone a few times, fresh pollen can be removed each time for maximum viability. Write the species name and date stored on both sides of the packet so you can tell later on how old the pollen is.



Once I cap the vial, I place it in the refrigerator for two days. I do not place it directly in the freezer because the pollen's moisture content is too high; water expansion can rupture the pollen and render it inviable. Once the pollen has been in the vial for at least two days, and as long as the paper packet has had enough breathable area, moisture content will be reduced enough for you to put the vial in the freezer. Once the vial is in the freezer, the pollen should be good for years. I have found that pollen will stay very fresh for at least three years. I know one person who used pollen that had been stored for six years and got a good seed set. I have been told that if pollen were to be stored in liquid nitrogen, it would stay viable forever. Of course this method is not practical for most people. If you collect pollen on separate occasions, but eventually want to keep the pollen in the same container, it is best to store the newer pollen in a different vial and go through the same process in the refrigerator. Once the new pollen is desiccated, the newer packets can be quickly placed in the original container. When removing packets for use, it is important to minimize the time that the vial is open because the pollen and packets can reabsorb moisture. This is another reason to use several packets instead of removing a small amount of pollen each time from one larger packet. Once you remove a packet, use the pollen as soon as possible.

Pollen loses viability quickly at room temperature and even faster at higher temperatures. Pollen can stay viable at room temperature for several days, but I attempt to maximize its viability so that more good seed is produced in the long run. Just because an entire cone is pollinated does not mean all of the seeds will germinate. Quality of the pollen has a great deal to do with how many seeds in each cone are viable. Another reason to keep moisture content low in pollen is to lessen the chance for fungus to grow on and kill the pollen. When I send pollen to someone who lives far away, I send it in a vial containing desiccant. This will keep the viability high. If the shipping time will be longer than one week, I add a cold pack to the box, which seems to help. I have been thinking about making a shipping container that would have two compartments. The inner, middle compartment could hold the vial, and the outside compartment could hold ice to keep the vial cooler while shipping. If dry ice were used in the outer compartment, pollen most likely could be shipped anywhere in the world without loss of viability. (Keep in mind, though, that all cycads are CITES listed, so sending pollen out of the country will require a CITES permit.)  


Source: w w w.plantapalm.com/vce/horticulture/pollen.htm

 This refers to cycads not canabis , but pollen is pollen and this person seems to know his way around a stamen


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