breeding Cross stabilisation - question

SentencedToBurn

SentencedToBurn

Hi everyone
 
I've come across this statement a few times now (on reddit though, so I've been taking it with a grain of salt) that if your plant has inconsistently shaped pods on the same plant, it must be "unstable".
 
I thought the following was true, however I'm now starting to doubt myself. Could anyone please confirm whether my thoughts below are correct?
  • Stability of the cross is defined by how consistent the plants grow which are planted from a mix of isolated seeds harvested from multiple pods off the same plant. i.e. if I was to take a bunch of random isolated seeds from a single plant, and grow them out - a stable cross will produce consistent plants.
  • Inconsistent shape of pods on the same plant does not mean the strain is "unstable". It just a trait of that particular strain, it can also be caused by various environmental factors. Even the most stable crosses can produce inconsistent pods.
 
Those statements sound good to me. I think pod shape is greatly impacted by various environmental factors, the age/maturity of the plant, available resources, pests, etc.

If the strain is pretty stable, the genetics should be good. But the pod shapes are up to how happy the plant is and what the weather is like.

But of course I have no way to prove any of it.
 
"Genetic stability" definitely means variation between siblings. It's not necessarily a good or bad thing either. Since humans are all pretty unique, you could say our genetics are highly unstable. Stability only comes from inbreeding, which reduces vigor in many species. Peppers are natural inbreeders though, so the effect of inbreeding on vigor is less than something like corn. (or humans)
 
SentencedToBurn said:
 
Hi everyone
 
I've come across this statement a few times now (on reddit though, so I've been taking it with a grain of salt) that if your plant has inconsistently shaped pods on the same plant, it must be "unstable".
 
I thought the following was true, however I'm now starting to doubt myself. Could anyone please confirm whether my thoughts below are correct?
  • Stability of the cross is defined by how consistent the plants grow which are planted from a mix of isolated seeds harvested from multiple pods off the same plant. i.e. if I was to take a bunch of random isolated seeds from a single plant, and grow them out - a stable cross will produce consistent plants.
  • Inconsistent shape of pods on the same plant does not mean the strain is "unstable". It just a trait of that particular strain, it can also be caused by various environmental factors. Even the most stable crosses can produce inconsistent pods.
 
Click to expand...
That sounds about right.
 
A bit late to the party, but I just wanted to mention you really shouldn't be looking on Reddit for advice on growing peppers. I'm subbed to /r/HotPeppers and the misinformation and outlandish claims that are voted to the top are ridiculous sometimes. I think it's because of the anonymity of the voting system or something that prevents people calling each other out on wrong info. I just go there to appreciate pictures of peppers, not much else. Luckily though, if you're reading this you've already found the best place online to learn about peppers.
 
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