Grow Your Own Magazine

I'm interested in Delphiniums at the moment I know that these don't come true to seed. Most of the 'specials' are F2, can anyone please explain what this means exactly?

Ta!

Wikipedia has the answer!

"The main advantage of homozygous F1 hybrids is also their drawback. When homozygous F1 cultivars are used for the breeding of a new generation, their offspring (F2 generation) will be high in homozygous genes, as found in the weaker parental generation, and thus will have a depression in yield and lack the hybrid vigor. From the point of view of a commercial seed producer which does not wish its customers to produce their own seed, this is a desired characteristic"

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Mark

http://vegetablekingdom-capsid.blogspot.com/

Maybe its because I was up too early but I'm abit confused.

So F1 is better than F2. F2 will be weaker than F1? I guess in Delphiniums that could be a good thing because the pink and white colours are caused by recessive genes.

Thanks you for the link Capsid- most appreciated!

F2 will be weaker than F1 but more uniform. The recessive genes for colour will be selected for when breeding and crossing from the F1 stock that results in most of the F2 plants will look the same.

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Mark

http://vegetablekingdom-capsid.blogspot.com/

But does this 'weaker' only apply to your delphinium example?

Here's a link to creating stable tomato strains - it doesn't talk about f2s being 'weak'?

Tomato Genes

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

That site doesn't really address hybrid vigour. I believe it is a general principle.

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Mark

http://vegetablekingdom-capsid.blogspot.com/