I crossed a C. chinense with a C. annuum, would this make a new species? I think there may have been a hole in my method and I think I may have accidentally self pollinated the annuum instead of actually crossing the two species. Anyway the seeds sprouted and they are almost the exact same height, the true leaves haven't grown yet but is there any way to tell if the cross took or if it was a self pollination? Maybe germ rate, or similarities to the chinense? (The mother was annuum)
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breeding Inter-specific cross/breeding question
- Thread starter charlie5heen
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No, that type of crossing does not 'create' a new species, but if done properly the new variety may show attributes of both annuums and chinense plants. I have made several crosses between those species and have been quite happy with them. I find them to be incredibly prolific and many times give annuum productivity with a bump in heat. That's my goal. When growing out F2+, you may see tons of different looks, attributes as the genes are spread, There is no easy / quick way to know if a cross has taken properly from the first set of leaves.
Chris
Chris
Yep, the cross could produce an annuum, a chinense or something in between but it will never be a distinct new species and, if it is something in the middle, it's generally clasified as whatever it most resembles. The Ghost Pepper, for example, looks like a chinense and is generally called one but does infact possess frutescens genes that nobody quite knows the origin of.
There's no way to tell if you have a cross or not, before it starts flowering and setting fruits. Well, in rare cases, they can show some unique properties and you could notice the difference, but that's just possible if you cross distinct species with enough visual differences. Anyway, I'd not be really sure until it starts setting pods. You then make a selection of your best plants (best looking, tasting and heatwise) and make sure they get self pollinated. Yo can not make a new species, but you can make a cultivar. Just grow it's best plants for 9 filial generations, and you'll have it. 