Cross pollination of chili and sweet pepper plants

**quark1** · 26-09-2009, 04:17 PM

I think with cross pollination the resulting seed will be pretty much a lottery of the gene selection process. I think it would be fairly safe to assume everything from a single fruit might be the same - but each seaprate fruit, even on the same plant, may produce different characteristics - depending upon which parent gene is dominant.

Rather like our own families - same parents - but the kids come in all different shapes and sizes depending on which gene pushes the other out of the way!

Its rather good fun to try these hybrid varieties as you never know what you're going to get. If you do grow some on try and keep them as separate as possible. Perhaps hand pollination and covering with a perforated plastic bag until fruits set would be one method? That way if you discover a goodie amongst the bunch you'll be surer of more consistent results from next year's fruits/seeds - taste, texture, heat, appearance. And if you develop your own new variety you could give it a very personal name. Flummery, for one, has developed a number of toms and raspberries over the years and perhaps she can offer further advice?

**21again** · 26-09-2009, 04:32 PM

Originally posted by quark1 View Post

I think with cross pollination the resulting seed will be pretty much a lottery of the gene selection process. I think it would be fairly safe to assume everything from a single fruit might be the same - but each seaprate fruit, even on the same plant, may produce different characteristics - depending upon which parent gene is dominant.

Rather like our own families - same parents - but the kids come in all different shapes and sizes depending on which gene pushes the other out of the way!

Its rather good fun to try these hybrid varieties as you never know what you're going to get. If you do grow some on try and keep them as separate as possible. Perhaps hand pollination and covering with a perforated plastic bag until fruits set would be one method? That way if you discover a goodie amongst the bunch you'll be surer of more consistent results from next year's fruits/seeds - taste, texture, heat, appearance. And if you develop your own new variety you could give it a very personal name. Flummery, for one, has developed a number of toms and raspberries over the years and perhaps she can offer further advice?

Ok, I shall see how we go, I shall have to make sure I keep the seeds seperate for next year.

I hope they have cross polinated now, it sounds exciting.

**rogesse** · 26-09-2009, 04:53 PM

Any saved sweet pepper seed could very well give you sweet peppers with bite - I didn't issolate my Sweet Aji from the chillis in the polytunnel last year and all this years Aji (from seeds grown undercover) have a fair bit of heat! The peppers grown from outside seed has not!

Mind you the hotish ones are quite nice so a happy accident.

**quark1** · 26-09-2009, 04:55 PM

21 - take a look at the results posted by Flummery (her blog) and Duronal on the spuds from seeds experiment in Growing Tecniques. Both have provided useful comments on taste/texture/appearance.

Flummery has posted my Salad Blues and Duronal possibly a mixture of mine and some other variety.

When my plants were in flower there were no other flowering potatoes in my group at that time. You can see that the sometimes huge variations can deliver wildly contrasting results. Will be good to see how a continuation into next year goes on - when peeps might be using 'best in class' tubers rather than seed from this seed growing process. Each received a separate a fruit from 2 different plants or a number of seeds spread on kitchen paper for the latecomers.

Unfortunately mine failed due to interaction with local wildlife! Result - 100% obliteration. But next year awaits....!

**21again** · 26-09-2009, 05:00 PM

Originally posted by quark1 View Post

21 - take a look at the results posted by Flummery (her blog) and Duronal on the spuds from seeds experiment in Growing Tecniques. Both have provided useful comments on taste/texture/appearance.

Flummery has posted my Salad Blues and Duronal possibly a mixture of mine and some other variety.

When my plants were in flower there were no other flowering potatoes in my group at that time. You can see that the sometimes huge variations can deliver wildly contrasting results. Will be good to see how a continuation into next year goes on - when peeps might be using 'best in class' tubers rather than seed from this seed growing process. Each received a separate a fruit from 2 different plants or a number of seeds spread on kitchen paper for the latecomers.

Unfortunately mine failed due to interaction with local wildlife! Result - 100% obliteration. But next year awaits....!

Thanks Quark, off to take a look now.

**voddybabe** · 28-09-2009, 10:44 AM

my peppers have done exactally the same thing!!. I thought i had done something wrong but i grew them on the same shelf as chillies, so i think that must be what has happened to mine too.
I love this forum, i would never have known.

**voddybabe** · 28-09-2009, 10:49 AM

will they still be edible?

**starloc** · 28-09-2009, 11:20 AM

Many sweet pepper varietys are long and `chillie` shaped, such as sweet banana , they also sell similar ones as finest sweet peppers in the tescos

Even with cross polination the fruit will be the same this year, just the seeds different, its the fruit from the seeds in the fruit you have now that would give differences due to crosspolination

**Flummery** · 28-09-2009, 11:29 AM

If the fruits are from seed you sowed this year, then the difference is due to cross pollination LAST season. They could have crossed this year but the results will only be apparent when you grow this year's seeds out next year.
Some types can have differing shaped fruits on the same plant.

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Cross pollination of chili and sweet pepper plants

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