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Pretty informative Growing Guide for Hot Peppers

Our worst nightmare:

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Mike
 
That was a very interesting read..
A question on the side: Why is there no commercial growing of peppers based on cuttings instead of seedlings??

Superted
 
Superted said:
That was a very interesting read. A question on the side: Why is there no commercial growing of peppers based on cuttings instead of seedlings?
Click to expand...
I've wondered myself why more isn't available on that subject.

If a clone is grown, it's an exact genetic duplicate of the Host. That eliminates any need for seed, worry about cross pollination (because the seeds aren't going to be used anyway) and retains a perfect copy of the desired traits.

Why don't more people do this? One plant that is fully matured and grown with an eye towards cloning by using a high nitrogen nutrient for rapid, increased growth of the foliage would create 50+ clones.

Does *anyone* here use this method?
 
Superted said:
Why is there no commercial growing of peppers based on cuttings instead of seedlings??
Click to expand...

UNAM in Mexico published a paper to which I've lost the link on this subject. The chiles are dwarfed by cloning and dwarfing continues with each clone generation. Plants from seed do not dwarf.

I have used this to my advantage as I have a 15 square foot greenhouse and large chiles are a problem. I germeinate a seed, grow the plant to flowering stage and clone the plant. I keep the clone and throw the parent out. If the clone makes too large a plant, I clone it again.

This is a 3rd gen Bolivian Rainbow dwarf:

dwarf7.jpg
 
willard3 said:
If the clone makes too large a plant, I clone it again.
Click to expand...
Following that same logic, if a large plant was desirable, then the cloning could be hybrid towards that goal. This would produce large plants of identical genetics to the host.

What I'm trying to ascertain is if cloning could eliminate the "Need for Seed".

Each year, many clones could be taken for the following years plants and grown indoors during winter, followed by hardening the plants off in the spring. This would shorten the time to harvest and ensure genetic continuity.

I'm following basic rules to cloning. I haven't done this with peppers yet. I'm trying to gather information about this topic.

Thanks for your input willard!
 
Superted said:
That was a very interesting read..
A question on the side: Why is there no commercial growing of peppers based on cuttings instead of seedlings??
Click to expand...

From the sites I have visited where chilies are grown commercially, cloning is not economically feasible, vis-a-vis seeds. Imagine how hard it would be to clone 10,000 or more plants and raise them large enough to transplant. It's easier and apparently cheaper to save seeds (or buy them) and sow them in a chili bed (an area that is about 10 feet wide by 100 feet long) that can provide enough plants to cover 2-3 acres.

If all you are raising in a field is habeneros, cross pollination is not a problem.

Mike
 
OMG Willard! That pepper's so cute. On top of that it's a new pic from you (for the members that don't know we hardly ever get new pics from Willard, he's a very mysterious pepper grower and forum member. It's always a treat seeing something new from him).
 
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