Re: [CH] hybrids
Dave Anderson (Chilehead@tough-love.com)
Tue, 13 Mar 2001 13:54:04 -0800
> A question. Are hybrids a bad thing?
>
> Miss Dewi
Nice web site! Good question!
IMHO there is nothing wrong with hybrids. There are some people
who disagree. Since all of our peppers are probably descended
from the Ulupica, they have been selected and/or hybridized for
centuries. The same applies to tomatoes. Many hybridizers will tell
you that hybrids posess "hybrid vigor" which allows them to grow
faster, larger, and produce more fruits. As an experiment I sent
open pollinated Jalapeno and Jalapa Hybrid seeds to several
people last year so they could compare them. Unfortunately I only
received one reply and it was neutral. The person who responded
was from Germany. He said that he had extremely bad weather
last year which may have accounted for poor growth on both. I
should have grown them too, but I was busy raising Orange
Habaneros to dry and grind.
The problem with hybrids for seed savers is that the seeds from the
fruits will contain genetic material from both parents so the
resulting plants will probably be different. Another disadvantage is
that hybrid seeds are much more expensive because it requires
hand labor to pollinate each flower. I hope this helps.
Dave Anderson
TLCC
Http://www.tough-love.com