i have 5 different species with at least 6 different varieties in each. totaling around 25-30 different types.... approximately 200 seedlings so far. my question is concerning these guys cross pollinating once transplanted outside. ive read several books on horticulture and plant biology...all say chances of crossing are quite high. my partner seems to think that it is of little concern and plants that could cross can be planted as close as 5 feet with no worries of crossing. i disagree. i know that wind and insects can facilitate cross pollination, wind can be controlled somewhat with barriers etc. but what about a bee or humming bird that can hit thousands of plants a day and cover miles? anyone who is a professional grower or has a degree in horticulture, could you help clear this up? thanks for any feedback!
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breeding CROSS POLLINATING
- Thread starter jimhaleii
- Start date
You are going to get many different opinions here. From my experience, you will definitely get some crosses. What matters more is do you care? If you are planning on selling seed, you have an issue. If you are planning on selling pods, then it really won't matter if they cross.
PaulG
Extreme Member
Some sp. cross more easily than others. From notes I took searching
about this:
c. annuum x c. chinense - readily, keep separate if seed potential
c. baccatum and c. frutescens - cross pollinate sporadically if at all
There you have the sum of my knowledge
on this issue. Hopefully
folk with more experience will chime in.
about this:
c. annuum x c. chinense - readily, keep separate if seed potential
c. baccatum and c. frutescens - cross pollinate sporadically if at all
There you have the sum of my knowledge
on this issue. Hopefullyfolk with more experience will chime in.
your partner is wrong. recommended separation distance to completely avoid cross-pollination by insects is 1/2 mile. you can also isolate plants with cages to avoid needing that much space.
best guesses on the amount of cross-pollination occurring on closely planted OP plants are usually around 20%. this of course can vary greatly depending on a lot of factors.
unless you intend to sell seed i wouldn't worry too much about cross-pollination.
best guesses on the amount of cross-pollination occurring on closely planted OP plants are usually around 20%. this of course can vary greatly depending on a lot of factors.
unless you intend to sell seed i wouldn't worry too much about cross-pollination.
Well for what it's worth, I'm not a professional grower and I do not have a degree in horticulture, plants within five feet will definitely cross. Not all of them, not most of them, hey not even a lot of them but some of them will. I've read that the minimum safe distance is one mile. You can use tulle, a fabric used to make wedding veils, to isolate flowers and I know it works because I've done it.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional grower nor do I play one on TV. I do not have a horicultrual degree either so you don't need to pay attention to anything I say. Hope I don't get into any trouble responding to this.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional grower nor do I play one on TV. I do not have a horicultrual degree either so you don't need to pay attention to anything I say. Hope I don't get into any trouble responding to this.
Nor am I a professional grower, but I had a similar question some time ago.. This was what I found in the litterature/research on capsicum (sorry in advance for my English):
In a study by Odland and Porter they found natural cross polination was between 7.6 – 36.8 % with an avarage of 16.5% between the different species. Other studies have shown up to a staggering 68% cross politation in open fields. An interesting side note is that a cross polination study showed that the pollitation agents where divided between 58% bees, flies 13%, ants 8%, wasp 5% and others 16% and that the bees where most active during the morning/noon where most capsicum flowers bloom (Ahmet & Tanki:1994). Off course depending on where in the world and under which growing conditions the pollinators naturally occuring are different.
The cross pollination degree depends on some (and more) factors:
/Maria
In a study by Odland and Porter they found natural cross polination was between 7.6 – 36.8 % with an avarage of 16.5% between the different species. Other studies have shown up to a staggering 68% cross politation in open fields. An interesting side note is that a cross polination study showed that the pollitation agents where divided between 58% bees, flies 13%, ants 8%, wasp 5% and others 16% and that the bees where most active during the morning/noon where most capsicum flowers bloom (Ahmet & Tanki:1994). Off course depending on where in the world and under which growing conditions the pollinators naturally occuring are different.
The cross pollination degree depends on some (and more) factors:
- Not all species cross pollinate / or cross as easy with each other.
- Cultivars with a "long / high" stigma that are more likely to be cross pollinated than others where the stigma is more hidden in the flower (Anderson:556)
- The more pollinating agents / pollinators the more cross pollination
- The more cultivars the higher cross pollinating chance - assuming that the flowering occur at the same time
- If barrier plants (with a different genus or not crossable capsicum species) are plantet between the less likelyhood for cross pollinating
- Planting in quadrants (instead of rows) of the same cultivar and taking seeds from the middle of the quadrant will lower the rish a lot of cross polliating
- Depending on how many cultivars one have they can be planted out in different tempo to make sure the initial flowering does not occur on the same time which off course lowers the cross pollination factor.
/Maria
Lol, my plants get planted right next to honey bee hives. I want to cross intentionally but not unintentionally. I also want to breed (refine certain variations)This makes it difficult for me since I want to breed peppers. I guess I'll see later what crossed from last season. I'm not sure what one should do about it 
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Edit: Some have suggested isolating flowers. That can be handy, but it is tough if you want to select seeds based on the pod. I guess if you want to do that, you have to cover a whole plant. I have about 18 or so varieties, heh. I'd love to hear cost effective methods of covering entire plants!
.Edit: Some have suggested isolating flowers. That can be handy, but it is tough if you want to select seeds based on the pod. I guess if you want to do that, you have to cover a whole plant. I have about 18 or so varieties, heh. I'd love to hear cost effective methods of covering entire plants!
Jadia THANK YOU very much for that information. Professional grower or not buddy that's great information. I like the idea of planting in quadrants as opposed to rows.
Dulac, you can do an entire plant for around $5 or at least I did last year. Going to depend upon prices of wood. I used 1x2 cedar last year and tulle. Built a frame with the cedar then wrapped it with tulle. I think it worked good, I'll let you know after I grow out some seeds. The only problem I had was high winds but I fixed that with weight. If the tulle bounces off of anything it leaves holes and patching tulle bites. The easier way was to just do a branch. When you see pods starting to develop time to wrap it up.
Good luck.
Dulac, you can do an entire plant for around $5 or at least I did last year. Going to depend upon prices of wood. I used 1x2 cedar last year and tulle. Built a frame with the cedar then wrapped it with tulle. I think it worked good, I'll let you know after I grow out some seeds. The only problem I had was high winds but I fixed that with weight. If the tulle bounces off of anything it leaves holes and patching tulle bites. The easier way was to just do a branch. When you see pods starting to develop time to wrap it up.
Good luck.
Ahh, we get crazy winds here. Tropical storms and sometimes hurricanes. The problem is that I have no building experience or the tools needed to build anything, lol. Looks like I'll have to learn how to build what you're talking about. That sounds a good start. I'd love to here about how you do it. Eventually (when my girlfriend and I save up enough money) I will buy a house and build a greenhouse. Since the winds are crazy here, I was thinking of making that out of pvc piping and plastic (that way it will flex rather than crack and shatter).
Edit: I grow plants at the college I graduated from. That's why I have beehives near my plants, lol. I also know about the bees from beekeeping at the college. 2 years ago we had a huge tree land right on our garden after a tropical storm! I'll have to make a very durable structure to withstand the tropical storms. Cages, for example, always get blown away during the tropical storms.