breeding Cross Pollination.

[santis00]

I read some information on cross pollination and how it will not show until the following year (if you use the seeds from the two plants).
 
Typically I have gone to a local nursery to purchase my plants, but this year I was sent some seeds and they seem to be doing pretty good. In the past I have killed them off, until i found this site and had some help from a few of you!
 
So to my question for next year. How can you determine the heat you may see from this newly created seed/breed? I typically grow green chile local to my area, they don't rate very high on the scoville scale but still carry a good amount of heat. If these cross breed with super hots (or can they?) will they they average out between the two plants that pollinate?
 
I would hate to have to try to seperate the super hots from the rest of my garden, but at the same time would like to try to grow from seeds next year. Probably a dumb question and I will still dig through some forum articles here but thought I would see what you all thought. 

 

[kentishman]

Not a dumb question, and welcome to the forum! Cross breeding can definitely occur and would result in plants that borrow characteristics, e.g., heat, from both parents. In my experience growing about 6 years, seeds I save mostly grow true to the seed parent plant. I share seeds with others usually making it clear they were open pollinated, so folks know there is a possibility they won't grow true. Some varieties are more prone to cross breeding than others. I saved seeds from Fish Peppers, and they didn't grow true. They seem to be especially bad about doing it. One year my Kung Pao turned out just like a Korean variety that was growing nearby. So, it can happen, but for the most part the seeds will be the same as the mother plant. By the way, my plants grow close together, about 2 feet apart.

Hope this helps,
Tom

 

[Calamari Kid]

This might be total bro-science because I don't have my references.
 
But in short, by the time the chilli flower opens, pollination could have already occured (didn't entirely make sense when I read it either), but that is why for the purpose of cross breeding, the flower need to have the petals removed to access the anthers, and have those removed, and the desired pollen applied to the stigma manually.
 
The real botanists out there might be able t give you stats on separation distance and such like, but IMO if you want SPECIFIC crosses, isolation would be a good idea.

 

[juanitos]

So to my question for next year. How can you determine the heat you may see from this newly created seed/breed? I typically grow green chile local to my area, they don't rate very high on the scoville scale but still carry a good amount of heat. If these cross breed with super hots (or can they?) will they they average out between the two plants that pollinate?
 
I would hate to have to try to seperate the super hots from the rest of my garden, but at the same time would like to try to grow from seeds next year. Probably a dumb question and I will still dig through some forum articles here but thought I would see what you all thought. 

You can't determine, it's the genetic lottery, you just cross and hope for the best, this is why creating successful crosses is a big deal. Most people who are trying to create a cross use multiple samples(repeat the cross like 5 or 10 times) and then grows seeds and find the pheno they want out of all those children.
 
yes any pepper can cross, no it depends on what happens in reproduction, you may have the same heat, you may only transfer color, leaf structure, etc. Just like when 2 humans mate, you don't get a direct merge of 2 people, this is easy to see in interracial couples sometimes the kids only get fathers traits, or mothers, or mix in some percentage. Heat level is more than one gene, so you can get all kinds of mixes.
 
If you aren't saving seeds dont worry about growing them together. If you are saving seeds, when the flower develops you put a small bag of tulle or organza, that will keep most foreign pollen away. Then if you want to manually cross them you take pollen from flower on other plant on a toothbrush or something and go rub it on the flower in the organza bag, You can take the bag off once the pod starts developing. (or you can leave it on and do all the flowers on that particular branch.
 
Some people just leave all theirs open pollinated (they just group them all together and save seeds, not worrying about isolation) and then you get mystery plants and some true plants, its all very variable.
 
peppers are self pollinating so yeah usually they will just pollinate themselves, i don't think they pollinate before opening flower...

 

[santis00]

I guess I have nothing to worry about then for this year. Just didn't want a Bhut crossing into my green chile and really hurting my kids ha! 
 
I think ill concentrate on growing and not saving seeds (except from the super hots) this year, but cross-pollination sounds fun and challenging.