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Caceres, mid west of Spain

It seems like a few growers are very lucky producing good seeds, like Dave Stelts with the 801.5 and the 705; and sometimes even improve the some crosses they made before, like Bill Bobier with the 723 and the 845.
A particular cross sometimes gives seeds enable to grow huge pumpkins and sometimes doesn't. Is it only a matter of luck in the ovule-pollen gene exchange, or do you believe the grower, the soil, the climate, the weather, insects or deseases have any influence on the future offspring of those seeds?
Don

1/26/2003 3:13:48 AM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

A year or two back I raised over 100 sunflower plants and gave out to the kids at school as part of a competition at our local garden show,when I gave them out those plants were identical,each member of my family had one selected at random grew it the same way and ended up with very similar stocky 6 ft plant with 15in. flowers.I am sure that the result would have been the same with any other plant from those 100.
So how did everyone else get on,well most got eaten by slugs,blown over,overgrown,but the ones that survived ranged from something like a daisy to 15ft. tall with a tiny flower on top I'll stick my neck out and say that if I grew a seed from one of those others it would turn out 6ft. tall with a 15in. flower.
Unfortunately my kids won that class and everyone thought I had used superseed for our own plants but I didn't.

1/26/2003 6:58:11 AM

Rush, NY

One year I had 5 Squash plants from the same Self pollinated Squash. The 5 offspring all looked different in color and shape. Some plants had HUGE leaves and some had small leaves. I don't believe every seed from a giant pumpkin or squash will have the same potential.

1/26/2003 7:32:26 AM

[email protected]

I think this is why Joe Ailts promotes more selfing. To continuosly cross every year makes for a genetic lottery. The line never has a chance to fully demonstrate what it's true individual traits are. This may well be considered boring. Especially when so many growers have been successful crossing every year. Like it or not. Luck plays into this.
Only through purity will predictable paterns begin to emerge consistently. (key word "consistent")
For the record, my own breeding/hybridizing experience has NOT been with AG's. So perhaps I'm just full of it. LOL

Steve

1/26/2003 10:06:20 AM

Deer Park WA

I have a strong belief that inbreeding will produce several benifits to the grower. One you begin to develope a strain that is consistant in shape and size. Two your plant will become aclimated to your unique micro climate. Three Inbreeding pumpkins gives you lots of comic relief matterial to use on your Southern Brothren Eh bLACKCLOUD?

1/27/2003 12:05:21 AM