Massive F1 Production - How is it done?

[AJ Drew]

There are a lot of commercial seeds that are strictly F1.  Seedless water melon comes to mind.  You cross plant A with plant B and the seed turn out the same, but will not grow true.  In the case of seedless watermelon, I think they are nonviable or horribly low viability.  I wonder, how on earth do the huge seed companies do the cross pollination?  Could they have people with tiny paint brushes and tweezers? 

As a teen, I detastled corn for Pioneer Seed Company.  Walked down row after row pulling tastles and dropping them to the ground.  I assume we were working before the pollen released and they would somehow introduce the pollen later, but how?  Acres and acres of corn.  Any clue?  Maybe some sort of spray application?  I know corn is wind pollinated, but kind of means they have to collect tons of pollen somehow.
 
Just kind of seems like a monstrous task.

 

[moruga welder]

There are a lot of commercial seeds that are strictly F1.  Seedless water melon comes to mind.  You cross plant A with plant B and the seed turn out the same, but will not grow true.  In the case of seedless watermelon, I think they are nonviable or horribly low viability.  I wonder, how on earth do the huge seed companies do the cross pollination?  Could they have people with tiny paint brushes and tweezers? 

As a teen, I detastled corn for Pioneer Seed Company.  Walked down row after row pulling tastles and dropping them to the ground.  I assume we were working before the pollen released and they would somehow introduce the pollen later, but how?  Acres and acres of corn.  Any clue?  Maybe some sort of spray application?  I know corn is wind pollinated, but kind of means they have to collect tons of pollen somehow.
 
Just kind of seems like a monstrous task.

 
yep , been there !  nasty job !      

 

[AJ Drew]

 
yep , been there !  nasty job !      

By any chance did you show up day one in a tank top?  Oh damn that was a bad move on my part.

Curious, were you a teen at the time?  Kids today don't seem to get summer jobs.  Seems so very odd.  I had a dirt bike every summer and a snowmobile every winter.  Usually sold one for the other, kept getting something better.  All from a summer job and then shoveling snow in the winter. 

Going way off subject, younger brother had none of it.  Father passed, mother coddled the younger brother.  Today, he is one of those folk who likely couldn't manage a thing without a full set of instructions and supervisor to make sure he followed them.  Trying so very hard to raise my kids the way I was raised,but oh damn the PS2 generation has some powerful mojo going on.


 

 

[moruga welder]

By any chance did you show up day one in a tank top?  Oh damn that was a bad move on my part.

Curious, were you a teen at the time?  Kids today don't seem to get summer jobs.  Seems so very odd.  I had a dirt bike every summer and a snowmobile every winter.  Usually sold one for the other, kept getting something better.  All from a summer job and then shoveling snow in the winter. 

Going way off subject, younger brother had none of it.  Father passed, mother coddled the younger brother.  Today, he is one of those folk who likely couldn't manage a thing without a full set of instructions and supervisor to make sure he followed them.  Trying so very hard to raise my kids the way I was raised,but oh damn the PS2 generation has some powerful mojo going on.


 

 
yep sure was i was 13 , bean walked , then detasseled  and rogued for 3 years . remember i'm 53 . so yes i was working , if not i didn't drive . been working ever since , never been fired or laid off in 37 years . 32 in the factory . my dogs are ready to retire lol 

 

[AJ Drew]

 
yep sure was i was 13 , bean walked , then detailed and rogues for 3 years . remember i'm 53 . so yes i was working , if not i didn't drive . been working ever since , never been fired or laid off in 37 years . 32 in the factory . my dogs are ready to retire lol 

I think it was because you working at 13 that you are working now.  About the same here except for my vacations in the hospital.  You know, come to think about it... outside of the Army I dont think I have taken a real vacation.  Hmmmmm...

 

[moruga welder]

I think it was because you working at 13 that you are working now.  About the same here except for my vacations in the hospital.  You know, come to think about it... outside of the Army I dont think I have taken a real vacation.  Hmmmmm...

 
my pops always told me , son you never really get to rest till its over . R.I.P.  pops !  

 

[solid7]

my pops always told me , son you never really get to rest till its over . R.I.P.  pops !

My pops told me, "no rest for the wicked." After hearing that, I left the farm, and decided never to live my life like that! Cause that's negative!

I get lots of rest and "me" time in. Life is awesome, when you make the time.

 

[AJ Drew]

Solid, I think you owe your father a serious apology.  The expression "no rest for the wicked" has nothing to do with earthly work.  It is a reference to the Christian belief that the wicked will suffer eternal torture in hell.  If he said it in reference to earthly work, he was making a joke by calling himself wicked.

What Moruga's father was saying is the exact opposite of your quote.  Moruga's father was saying that you get to rest once you die.  In other words, you go to heaven.

Seriously, next fathers day buy that man an extra cold one.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/257500.html

 

[solid7]

Solid, I think you owe your father a serious apology.  The expression "no rest for the wicked" has nothing to do with earthly work.  It is a reference to the Christian belief that the wicked will suffer eternal torture in hell.  If he said it in reference to earthly work, he was making a joke by calling himself wicked.

What Moruga's father was saying is the exact opposite of your quote.  Moruga's father was saying that you get to rest once you die.  In other words, you go to heaven.

Seriously, next fathers day buy that man an extra cold one.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/257500.html

Yeah, I get that. It's not always used by "Christian folk", and I certainly wouldn't call us that.

I also use the term sarcastically, to voice my disdain that anyone would dream up such a ruthless and merciless being, who would supposedly punish his creation for an eternity - especially when their mortal existence is lived in a flash. (except that they believe that his bloodlust was quenched by killing himself in the most bizarre and confusing manner ever dreamed up)

Although the rest of it is a great model for absentee parenting!

 

[Max Nihil]

There are a lot of commercial seeds that are strictly F1...

Any clue?  Maybe some sort of spray application?  I know corn is wind pollinated, but kind of means they have to collect tons of pollen somehow.
 
Just kind of seems like a monstrous task.

I have been reading a ton of old threads and I found it odd that nobody in this particular thread answered the question.


The answer is of course that male sterility is used to create enormous batches of F1 seed in controlled conditions.

By using male sterile parental lines an entire greenhouse of a given plant can be pollinated without emasculation of the plants. Since they are male sterile the plants will not self pollinate and collected pollen can be easily introduced to the plants via an assortment of methods like pollinators, brushes or even wind assisted methods and the cultivator knows that all the seed produced is F1 hybrid material.

Male sterility is a widely used hybridization method and several alleles known to confer it are known. Likewise several alleles that restore fertility are known.

In reading through the old threads there are a lot of unanswered question and some bad info but generally speaking I feel disinclined towards addressing the vast preponderance of material.

This is one of the few exceptions.

When a test cross works out that same hybrid can be recreated with male sterile lines allowing it to be made on a large scale easily.

This is beyond the scope and knowledge of most hobby growing but the methods are widely published and not difficult to learn of if a person felt inclined towards obtaining further information.

 

[solid7]

I found it odd that nobody in this particular thread answered the question.

I, in particular, didn't answer the question for several reasons

1) I don't know the answer
2) Genetics is not a subject that particularly interests me
3) 1+2=3