Q: I am a Master Gardener and I had a lady call to ask if she could use seed from a gypsy hybrid white pepper plant that she grew last year for this year’s seed. She said she saved some peppers and collected the seeds. She planted a few to see if they would germinate this winter and they all sprouted. Will they produce if she uses the seed from last year’s peppers? She said the seed is so expensive. She also questioned how companies produce hybrid seed. A: Taking the seed from a hybrid fruit will show her what the parental makeup of that hybrid is. Whether the plants will produce fruit is anybodys guess, but they will not be the same as last year’s in any case. Hybrids are made by hand-crossing the pollen from one plant to the female (pistillate) part of another plant. This is delicate work with lots of unknowns as far as results go. The requirements are very exacting and there has to be flawless recordkeeping. Once the crosses result in something attractive, productive and nourishing, sufficient seed stock from the right crosses has to be built up to make it available to the public. That is why hybrid seed costs more. (Source: NDSU)
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 19:00:01 +0000
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