huntsman said:I've read about open pollination in several threads -
Can someone explain this term, and address its significance to chillis, please?
huntsman said:Ah! So if something is 'open pollinated', it's always a hybrid? (Or could be a hybrid?)
If this is the case, Slinter, what is the significance of the seed seller adding the words 'open pollinated' to their product? Would this indicate that the product might not be a pure strain?
Thanks!
huntsman said:I've read about open pollination in several threads -
Can someone explain this term, and address its significance to chillis, please?
Southern-Pepper said:Hey Huntsman I am a Noob as well. Think of it like this; Pretend you’re pepper garden is actually people growing instead of peppers. They are all looking for mates via evolutionary genes/alleles coding. So let’s say a male Caucasians genes are transferred via bees etc… instead of sperm, to a female Asian. Hence, a hybrid is born via pollination. Plant all Asian “plants” with 100% pure Asian decent genes and you can only produce Asian plants. However a frisky next door neighbor growing plants can pollinate your gene pool and alter the genetic structure of your plant or plants. That’s the best quick explanation I can think of, hope it helps.
POTAWIE said:Open pollinated is a confusing term which often is used to mean a non-hybrid plant but I'm not sure if this is really the correct usage since it also seems to mean plants that are pollinated in the open by wind, insects, birds etc.
One definition http://www.primalseeds.org/hybrid.htm
2nd definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_pollination
Pepperfreak said:Also, unless you are going to be saving the seeds, you don't need to worry about cross-pollination because it will not effect the fruit of the current plant. However, if you are planning on saving the seeds and planting them next year, you do need to worry about cross-pollination, only if you want pure seeds.
Sorry, I don't know how far apart they would need to be to keep them from cross-pollinating.
Generally what I hear is they should be a mile apart. Pollen gets around quite easly.huntsman said:BTW - How far apart should you plant different species to avoid this issue? (Obviously the answer is variable, depending on wind, animals pollinating inadvertently, etc, but just a guideline?)