Seeds from hybridshow do they do it?

Well California is not always as warm as everybody thinks...it's an El Nino year, it rained a lot. Is SK shorter for Saskatchewan? I knew someone from there...

It is Saskatchewan. :) And you spelt it correctly!!! Ü


what is your zone?




We hit -52F (with windchill this winter).....what was your coldest temp?

Thanks for your input Waldrade. It's nice to hear from someone who knows their tomatoes. This helps me with the question that I brought up in another thread..

This message was edited Mar 25, 2005 4:47 PM

You're welcome flowergirl :).
I think California is in zone 9...I guess I could probably try to grow tropical stuff.

A little glimpse of California looks like now:

Here's more:

Last one:

Thank you! Ü

Give us a couple months, we'll catch up and look just like your pictures. :D Thanks for sharing, Walrade.

Hmm, I'll check around the tomato forum but I wasn't thinking about tomatoes at all! I was interested in various flowers, such as petunias. But I would imagine the same principles apply across the board.

Nice pics, Waltrade. Love those California poppies!

Here is a link that talks about hybrids: http://www.bulbnrose.com/Heredity/Swingle/swingle.html

Thanks for the link, Pam--a very interesting article. I've just scanned it quickly so far--it's quite technical and needs a closer reading. I don't *think* it answers my question, though, about how the seed companies can get such large quantities of seeds that will breed true when the consumer buys and grows them.

You're welcome.......It goes into more detail than any of us would come up with (I think),

From what I have read most do go back to square one to get #1 hybrid seed (there would be too many variations if they didn't).

This is what Carolyn said about tomatoes but it would hold true for any other hybrid seed:

8. Purity of the lines. Professional treatment of growing out the inbreds, producing the hybrid seed, the need for near perfect seed due to the high costs, make for a more consistent product. There are usually growout tests done on hybrids that OP's seldon get. The smaller seed companies growing the OP lines are slightly more prone to seed mixture, cross pollination, etc.


Even with using the same parents (cuttings etc would have been made of them) there will be some variation between the offspring and if you want to get an exact duplicate of a hybird that would have to be gotten from a cutting/cloning etc..


This message was edited Mar 27, 2005 12:10 AM

The part of the article (in the above link) that is titled DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIRST AND LATER GENERATIONS OF HYBRIDS explains how the first generation hybrid offspring differs greatly from succeeding generations.


Below that is an article titled GROUPING OF HYBRIDS ACCORDING TO AMOUNT AND NATURE AND THE TIMEOF APPEARANCE OF RESEMBLANCES TO PARENTS that explains why established highly rated seed companies would want to go back to square one every year to get seeds.



This message was edited Mar 26, 2005 11:09 PM

PAm, I am so glad you 'splained' it, I didn't have the omph! to read it. Thank ya! J

Joelle I certainly don't know if my interpretation is 100% correct (or any where near that) for sure. The only reason I mentioned posting in the tomato forum is that Dr. Carolyn Male was a biologist and University Professor and her interpretation would be closest to having a refereed source.

I also found this quote

The Economist (US), Sept 6, 1997 v344 n8033 p84(2)

No sex, please, we're plants. (asexual reproduction in plants)

Seed companies, too, have an interest in apomixis-and it is double-edged. At the moment, most of their wares are made by hybridisation. This produces high-quality seeds by combining two inbred (and therefore genetically reliable) strains, but it requires the maintenance of these strains-a huge investment in land, labour and agrochemicals. The inbred strains themselves do not make good crops, because inbreeding often leads to genetic weaknesses which are not expressed in the hybrids.

and from the same article:

The advantage of apomictic seed for the companies is that they could dispense with the costly process of hybridisation. On the other hand, it would let the genie out of the bottle. At the moment, the use of hybrid seeds produced from inbred strains means that it is pointless for a farmer to replant any seeds from his harvest. Not being the product of crosses between the inbred strains, the second-generation crop would not necessarily have the desired characteristics. Farmers, therefore, have to return to the companies each year if they are to obtain reliable crops. But once a firm sold a farmer the seeds of an apomictic crop, it would be difficult to stop him from saving seeds and growing them in future years.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2005 10:14 AM

Again the above quotes deal with agriculture crops but from the little research I have done...the answers would be the same if they were dealing with hybrid trees, flowering plants, vegetables, etc.

Thank you Pam, that was very interesting.

You're welcome.....my father and uncle (and paternal gr. grandfather) used to be partners in a grain syndicate (buying and selling seeds to farmers) and I found I started remembering some of the discussions they used to have.

Yes, thanks for the info Pam. I guess nurseries would have to keep a considerable supply of the parent plants on hand then, even if they never planned to sell them. Would need lots of space!

Shannon

"No sex, please, we're plants. " tee hee!