AT last years appeared on sale great amount seeds of F1 hybrids of vegetables and flowers. However, it is with them that most of the questions are connected. Why, for example, bags with F1 seeds are much more expensive than “regular” varieties, and there are very few seeds in them (5–10 pieces)? Why are their descriptions especially tempting - "resistant", "yielding", "highly decorative", "large-flowered", etc.? It happens that sellers warn: "It is impossible to collect your seeds from hybrids, as there will be splitting in the future." Finally, one sometimes hears from amateur gardeners that “hybrids are probably the same as transgenic plants, they are unsafe for health.” Let's find out what exactly are hybrids?

The most important feature variety is its ability to retain all its positive and negative properties in the next offspring. When obtaining and harvesting seeds from plants of a common variety, especially in self-pollinating (tomato, pea, bean) or partially self-pollinating vegetable crops(pepper, eggplant, lettuce, beans), in subsequent offspring we will get plants with almost exactly the same set of traits. This ability to transfer all its properties to offspring makes it easy to maintain and reproduce, even on personal plot, varieties of self-pollinating crops. But with mass harvesting of seeds, when regular selection of the best plants for a given variety is not used, within 3-5 years, some characteristics characteristic of this variety may be lost. There is, as vegetable growers say, a degeneration of the variety. Therefore, with well-established seed production of varieties, even self-pollinating vegetable crops, once every 3-5 years it is necessary to purchase elite seeds of the variety you like in a specialized gardening store.
It is much more difficult, but it is also quite possible to propagate or support a variety of any cross-pollinating vegetable crop - cucumber, cabbage, zucchini, carrots, beets, pumpkins, watermelons, etc. Here, the presence is nearby flowering plants another variety of this crop (for example, on a personal plot) leads to over-pollination, and, consequently, to a partial or complete loss of characteristics characteristic of this variety. And the closer two different varieties are located, the more pollination occurs. At the same time, in the offspring we receive, a mixture of traits of two, three or more varieties is observed, as a result, the variety disappears and we have a set of plants with completely different traits and properties and low productivity. A bee or bumblebee carrying pollen freely flies from flower to flower at a distance of up to 2000 m.
Therefore, the reproduction of even simple cross-pollinating varieties in your backyard requires special knowledge of the biology of flowering of a particular crop. If, however, spatial or any other isolation is observed, as well as forced self-pollination, then in the next offspring a well-selected variety will basically retain all the properties inherent only to it. Thus, simple variety it is possible for several years to obtain and harvest seeds from which plants will grow that have retained all its main features.
It breeds differently. hybrid variety or hybrid F1. Two centuries ago it was known that when crossing two different varieties in the offspring, the size of plants increases markedly, their growth and development are accelerated, and precocity and productivity increase. This phenomenon, that is, an increase in vitality in the offspring obtained from crossing two different varieties, is called heterosis. And the more contrasting the parental varieties, the more they differ from each other, the higher the heterosis.
The practical use of the phenomenon of heterosis began in the 20-30s of the last century. For all vegetable crops, heterosis selection is carried out and F1 hybrids have been obtained, which are widely used in production. In countries with developed agriculture, ordinary varieties are practically not grown in vegetable growing. They have been replaced everywhere by F1 hybrids. In our protected ground, where every meter of area is registered, only F1 hybrids of cucumber and tomato are used.

F1 AND F2 HYBRIDS.
A hybrid is an offspring obtained from crossing two genetically heterogeneous parental forms: species, lines, varieties, etc. In agriculture, as a rule, hybrids of the first generation (i.e., the first offspring from crossing parents) are used, which designate Latin letter F and the number 1. If you collect seeds from F1 hybrids and sow them, then on next year second-generation hybrids will grow, or F2 (this designation can be found on bags with flower seeds).

WHAT ARE THEIR ADVANTAGES? different parents, used in crossing, may have some advantage (for example, one is disease resistant, the second is early ripening), and the resulting hybrid will have both advantages at the same time (in this case it will be both early ripening and disease resistant). Thus, by specifically selecting parents for crossing, it is possible to obtain hybrids with a set of given positive traits that the “ordinary” variety does not have. F1 hybrids are distinguished by a high level of adaptation to adverse factors. In early spring, with sudden changes in air temperature or summer heat, F1 hybrids develop much better than ordinary varieties. High level adaptation to adverse factors contributes to obtaining consistently high yields.

Not less than important requirement applied to F1 hybrids is their genetic resistance to diseases and pests. This is especially true when growing vegetables in film greenhouses. The specifics of the protected ground microclimate, prolonged cultivation of one or two crops in one place leads to a significant accumulation of pathogenic microflora and fauna. Chemical Methods control of diseases and pests in greenhouses is not always effective and reliable. In addition, tomato or cucumber fruits intended for consumption in fresh must not contain pesticide residues. Therefore, the genetic resistance of F1 hybrids to diseases due to the combination of the traits of the two parental lines is always higher than that of ordinary varieties. F1 tomato hybrids with group resistance to three or four diseases (tobacco mosaic virus, brown leaf spot, fusarium, verticillium) and root-knot nematodes have already been obtained and used in production.

For seeds only in a special store.

Unlike conventional varieties from hybrid plants, harvesting seeds is unacceptable. The offspring due to splitting is so variegated and heterogeneous that there can be no talk of any high yield. The fact that the seeds of F1 hybrids must be purchased at the store every time is their only drawback.
Get on your own hybrid seeds in the conditions of a homestead economy, without having the original parental lines, it is impossible. Therefore, if you see F1 hybrid seeds for sale from private traders, then this is probably not true. Buying hybrid seeds on the market puts your crop at risk.
Now about the price of seeds of F1 hybrids. All work on crossing two parental lines to obtain hybrid seeds is carried out, as a rule, manually in protected ground. For example, in a tomato culture, when obtaining F1 hybrids, it is necessary to castrate (that is, remove stamens) all opening flowers on the maternal line, harvest pollen from the opened flowers of the paternal line with a vibrator and very carefully apply it several times (within two to three days) on stigma of pistil. The work on hybrid seed production continues every day for two to three months. One person per season can get only 3-4 kg of hybrid tomato seeds. Therefore, the price of hybrid seeds is several times higher than that of conventional varietal seeds. For the buyer, the cost of seeds is only 0.5-1% of the cost of the products received and justifies itself in the harvest. However, the question arises:

Why do we need it?

Man has always sought to bigger harvest per unit area.
With the development of technologies for growing agricultural products, the requirements for varieties are changing. So, with the advent of combines for harvesting, varieties with fruits resistant to contact with the mechanical parts of the combine were required. With the development of the processing industry, there was a demand for varieties whose fruits are ideal for various methods processing (canning, pasta production, drying, freezing, etc.). With the increase in the areas of protected ground, it became necessary to create special varieties for these growing conditions.
Development of economic relations and trade between different regions and countries to ensure a year-round supply fresh vegetables and fruit contributed to the creation of varieties that tolerate transportation well and at the same time retain high commercial qualities.

As you can see, the creation of new varieties is an objective necessity for the successful development of the traditional Agriculture and processing industry. Professional Manufacturers when growing vegetables and flowers, they work only with hybrids.

The biodynamic direction of agriculture does not use or recognize hybrids, stating that their quality and nutritional value for humans are contentious issues. The use of hybrids in floriculture is completely justified: they are superior to varieties in compactness, abundant flowering and colors. And whether it is necessary to grow vegetable hybrids for your own nutrition, let everyone decide for himself.

For many years we have used the seeds of conventional varieties. The variety is the result of a long selection. Most often it is adapted to a particular climate. In self-fertile plants, it produces seeds of the same variety, and when cross-pollinated, it begins to slowly and gradually change its characteristics. With good spatial isolation and hand pollination, the variety you like can be stored for many, many years.

But with the development of genetics, in addition to simple selection, purposeful crossing of certain varieties began to be increasingly used to combine in one offspring a specific combination of the most valuable qualities of parent plants. As a result of this, hybrid seeds of the first generation F1 are obtained.

What is the difference

hybrids “F1” from a variety?

Outwardly, except for the “F1” index next to the name of the hybrid, these seeds are no different from any other varieties. But the price for them is much higher, sometimes several times. And this is no coincidence. So what is it?

Seeds of any self-pollinating variety always produce offspring similar to themselves, which retains all their positive and negative properties in the next generation.

Heterotic hybrids never produce such offspring, since the resulting combination of traits is unstable in them. It is preserved only in the first generation.

Therefore, by planting seeds taken from the F1 hybrid tomato you have grown, you will get a lot of various plants, among which there may be barren and unproductive plants, and maybe (but this is very unlikely) that there are outstanding plants. And all this is only because heterotic hybrids do not retain the properties of the mother plant.

BUT: F1 hybrids are more productive, and most importantly, significantly more resistant to diseases, pests and stressful situations than their parent plants.

Gardeners are often interested in whether it is possible to buy hybrid seeds from amateur vegetable growers? The short answer is no, no, no! You just read a little higher that such a purchase dooms you to failure in advance, since it is impossible to produce such seeds on your own. This can only be done by specialized scientific agricultural institutions.

The selection of parental pairs for obtaining hybrid seeds is a very laborious work, it takes many years, that is, heterotic hybrids are formed after artificial crossing of certain, strictly selected parental pairs (cultivars). Hence and high price for these seeds.

What to choose -

variety or hybrid?

Advantages of varieties:

The seeds of these plants in stores are much cheaper than the seeds of heterotic hybrids;

In the future, without much difficulty, you yourself will be able to harvest the seeds of the variety you like for many years;

Advantages of F1 heterosis hybrids:

When creating heterotic hybrids, the selection of parental lines is carried out immediately according to several criteria. The most relevant of them: the ability of plants to withstand temperature extremes, pests and diseases, to produce stable crops in any summer. Therefore, many heterotic hybrids have precisely these valuable qualities:

the yield of plants grown from seeds of heterotic hybrids is at least 50% higher than that of maternal and paternal varieties;

Plants grown from such hybrid seeds are able to bear fruit successfully under the most adverse conditions;

On hybrid plants, there is a much faster development of fruits in the presence of a balanced diet;

Hybrid plants have a much greater resistance to disease compared to varieties;

The fruits on the plant from the lower brush to the very crown are even, of the same size (photo 2 and 3);

Most heterotic hybrids are characterized by very amicable ripening of fruits on the vine (photo 3).

The most important advantage of heterotic hybrids is their significant, in comparison with varieties, resistance to diseases and pests. And this is especially important when growing vegetables in film greenhouses. Therefore, if possible, it is necessary to purchase and use seeds (especially from tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages, carrots, beets) of heterotic hybrids “F1”, despite the significant difference in the price of seeds.

However, this should be done only after advice from a competent specialist. The fact is that most European heterotic hybrids obtained in elite laboratory conditions Western firms will not be able to show all their best qualities in our harsh climate and agricultural background (let's be sincere), which is an order of magnitude worse than in these laboratories. Therefore, it is necessary to choose only domestic hybrids, which are much better adapted to our cool and often rainy summer.

V.G. Shafransky, Yekaterinburg

You can find this article in the newspaper "Magic Garden" 2010 No. 5.

Number of impressions: 17033

What are hybrids F

How many generations does a hybrid have?

Depending on conditions external environment over time, plants accumulate certain characteristics that allow them to widely adapt to different environments. Best Forms These plants were selected for seeds. That's how they were created unique varieties folk selection: onion - Strigunovsky, Bessonovsky; cucumber - Muromsky, Vyaznikovsky, Nezhinsky, Klinsky; cabbage - Kashirka, Belarusian, etc. With the development of agricultural science, new selection methods were improved and created, new varieties were created with their help, and old, local ones were improved.

However, with the development of the science of heredity and variability of organisms - genetics, in addition to simple selection, they increasingly began to use cross-pollination or, as breeders say, crossing different varieties to combine in one offspring the necessary economically valuable traits of parent plants. To do this, artificial isolation and castration of the flowers of the maternal form and their forced pollination with pre-collected pollen of the paternal form are carried out. As a result, hybrid seeds of the first generation (F1) are obtained. F2, ... - symbols for designating, respectively, the first, second, etc. generations of individuals obtained from crossing two parental forms.

According to the laws of genetics, the resulting combination of traits in a hybrid is preserved only in the first generation. When selecting seeds from hybrids of the first generation, the next generation (F2) will be represented by such a diverse combination of all traits, even those that were not in the original parental varieties, that it is almost impossible to find two identical plants. But this is what allows in hybrids of the second generation (F2) to select from hundreds and thousands of plants only a few super-elites (the most best plants), which will later become the ancestors of new varieties. True, the offspring of these best plants will not become a variety soon, at least in 5-7 years. And all this time, in order to achieve uniformity in the offspring, it will be necessary to cross many breeding lines (offspring from individual plants) and reject the worst ones.

Unfortunately, not every combination of crossing is capable of giving rise to at least one in its offspring. good grade. Therefore, the creation of even a simple variety requires many years of hard and painstaking work. And the longer the breeder works with a particular vegetable crop, the better he feels it, the more likely it is to find and create an original variety.

Purposeful work on the combination of strictly defined traits in one variety, including genetic resistance to various diseases, requires the breeder to use more complex methods of work. This includes crossing with wild varieties of vegetable crops, the use of mutagenesis [the process of the occurrence of hereditary changes (mutations) under the influence of external natural or artificial factors] and many other methods that allow you to create qualitatively new varieties, the production of which traditional methods just impossible.

A variety of growing conditions for vegetable crops and ways to use them for food, both fresh and for processing, requires a variety of varieties. The times of universal varieties, combining as many as possible positive qualities, passed. There are varieties for open and separately - for protected ground. The fruits of some are best used fresh, while others are only for processing. Therefore, the selection of such varieties is carried out strictly purposefully - taking into account a specific growing area, in order to obtain early or late products that are resistant to certain diseases. For some indicators, one variety is better than another, for others - vice versa. Therefore, when choosing a variety, you need to know for what growing conditions it is recommended and its main economic and biological indicators. Otherwise, you can buy seeds of an excellent variety of tomato, created, say, for combine harvesting in the south of the country, and try to get fruit from them in protected ground conditions. In addition to disappointment and losses, such work will not bring anything to an amateur vegetable grower.

Variety is a purely economic concept, and it is understood as a set cultivated plants of the same species, created by man through selection and combined according to biological, morphological and economically valuable traits. Therefore, a variety can be a clone or more parental forms specially created for this purpose. Therefore, seed production of F1.

Hybrid F 1, unlike the above types of varieties, differs in that its seeds each time must be obtained by crossing two or more parental forms specially selected for this purpose. Therefore, the seed production of F 1 hybrids, that is, its reproduction, can only be carried out by those organizations that have the original parental lines. In our country, as a rule, this is the originating institution that created the hybrid, and one or two farms where this hybrid breeds according to the plan of the All-Union Association "Sortsemovoshch". In order to maintain a monopoly on the seed production of one or another F1 hybrid, its parent lines are usually kept secret. Therefore, when an amateur vegetable grower buys F1 Rusich or F1 Malyshok tomato seeds on the market from a private person, he can be sure that this is definitely not F1 Rusich or F1 Malyshok. AT best case these are seeds harvested from an F1 hybrid, but this is not a heterotic hybrid, but its split progeny (F1). Indeed, in most cases, F1 hybrids are created on the basis of unproductive, and sometimes even sterile forms. Therefore, in the fissile progeny F2, there may be plants either without fruits at all, or with varying degrees productivity. In addition, F2 plants differ in height, bush shape, growth type, fruit size. Very often, under the guise of seeds of popular F1 hybrids of tomato or cucumber, the market, as a rule, sells ordinary varieties.

Hybrids of the first generation Tortila and Solveig

Hybrids of the first generation Verlioka and Carlson

Unfortunately, very often hand seed traders do not know the difference between seeding a regular variety and an F1 hybrid. Such ignorance leads to the fact that the amateur vegetable grower does not receive the expected return from the plants of the imaginary F1 hybrid, and the F1 hybrid itself is completely discredited. So if you want to purchase seeds of F1 hybrids of vegetable crops for your site, do it through the Semena stores of the All-Union Association Sortsemovoshch.

What are the advantages of the F1 hybrid compared to the regular variety? First of all, the hybrid is characterized by higher and more stable productivity. Even in conditions that are not entirely favorable - with a lack of light, with soil and air temperatures above or below optimal and the same non-standard humidity - F1 hybrids give more high yields fruit than regular varieties. In most cases, this is explained by the heterosis surge that occurs in the offspring when different parental forms are crossed.

In addition, F1 hybrids allow, due to the appropriate selection of the original parental lines, to combine in their offspring almost twice more than the usual variety of useful economic and biological traits.

Given these qualities of F1 hybrids, as well as the complexity of their seed production, they are now most widely used in protected ground structures, where each square meter registered area. Therefore, the price for seeds of F1 hybrids is usually several times higher than for conventional varieties of vegetable crops.

In our country, a whole series of first-generation hybrids for film and glass greenhouses. The most common are F1 cucumber hybrids: Manul, Maisky, Legend, Gribovchanka, April, Zozulya, Rodnichok; tomato: Carlson, Rusich, Malyshok, Swift, Grenada, Verlioka, Swallow. Hybrids of the first generation of vegetable crops for open ground are being created.

It is clear from the foregoing: even if he manages to personally obtain an F1 hybrid by crossing, it is impossible for an amateur vegetable grower to engage in seed production of first-generation hybrids on his own, not to mention seed production of purchased hybrids. On the contrary, the reproduction of well-selected varieties, especially self-pollinating vegetable crops (tomato, pea, partially pepper, eggplant), can be easily mastered by the amateur vegetable grower himself. For several generations, such varieties retain the main economic and biological characteristics. External, not quite typical conditions for a particular variety, as a rule, for such a short time(2-4 years) do not change its hereditary structure. With longer breeding periods, an amateur vegetable grower, as a rule, not knowing the characteristics of the variety and selecting seemingly the best specimens for seeds, may involuntarily lose others. positive properties plants. In addition, due to partial cross-pollination, impurities of other samples (and without properly organized seed production, this is possible), after some time the variety will lose some of the economic and biological characteristics and, first of all, will lose the ability to high yield. Therefore, amateur vegetable growers periodically need to carry out variety renewal (after 2-3 generations). If the cultivation conditions of the variety are unsatisfactory, then it is better not to get your own seeds, but to buy them in a specialized store.

Varietal propagation of cross-pollinated vegetable crops (cucumber, zucchini, onion, carrot, radish, etc.) is much more difficult, since it requires their significant spatial isolation. To avoid cross-pollination of one variety by another, they must be placed from each other at a distance of at least 50-100 m. And this is hardly possible under the conditions of a garden partnership. That is why a variety, for example, of a cucumber propagated on garden plot, after 1-2 years loses most of its typical features.

If an amateur vegetable grower at least in in general terms familiar with the process of creating various varieties, the organization of their seed production, he takes the acquisition of seeds more seriously. And this means a lot in practice.

S. Gavrish , Ph.D. Sciences, TSHA

(household farm № 3, 1989)

What are hybrids? How are they produced? What are the advantages of hybrid seeds over varietal seeds. Why hybrid seeds are more expensive than varietal seeds. Why seeds obtained from hybrid plants are not recommended for cultivation in subsequent years.

Hybrid seeds are the fruit of the patient work of breeders. On sale there are seeds of hybrids of the first generation. The hallmark of a hybrid that distinguishes it from a variety is the symbol F1. For example "Farmer F1". F - These are children (from the Italian Filli). 1 is the generation number.

Get hybrids by artificial pollination of flowers different varieties one culture. For such crossing, parents are carefully selected until the planned positive result. And when the result is achieved, the hybrid is patented. Parental forms are usually kept secret. One of the parents does not always have best performance, from the point of view of the fruit consumer, however, it may have unique abilities to resist dangerous diseases. So when using a variety of characteristics of parents when crossing, children can be "born" who inherit resistance to diseases from one parent and excellent yields from the other. Just like people do. Fashion model says - " beautiful figure I received from my mother, and an expressive look from my father.

Sometimes F1 hybrids outperform both parents in a number of positive ways. Breeders call this miracle heterosis. And hybrids with such signs are called heterotic. On the packaging with seeds, this feature is certainly mentioned. To date, there are a huge number of hybrids that seriously compete with varieties in the seed market. Hybrid seeds are expensive, and plants from them grow powerful, strong and abundantly fruiting.

Hybrid plants produce very few seeds compared to cultivars. This is one of the reasons for their high cost. Vegetable growers - amateurs are advised to buy exactly expensive seeds, because in the end they will become cheap, bringing a plentiful and high-quality harvest. Cheap seeds are a lot more fiddly, and the end result is usually only satisfactory. Often there is a complete lack of harvest, as a result of unwisely purchased cheap seeds, they turn into gold.

Do not store seeds obtained from hybrids for sowing on next year. Since in the second generation there is a “scattering” of the positive characteristics of the hybrid into parental forms, the quality of which will not satisfy the vegetable grower for the reasons stated above. What of them can grow, only the author of the hybrid knows.

If you look through all the bags of seeds, hung or laid out on the counter, you can often see the designation "F1" indicated somewhere in the corner. This marking is quite common, and you can see it on all types of vegetable crops. So what does F1 mean on seeds? What features and characteristics are embedded in this designation? Let's try to understand this abbreviation.

A little about selection or what F1 means on seeds

With the beginning of the gardening period, or more simply, with the onset of spring, all summer residents think about the issue of planting crops - about what will be planted, where to plant it and in what sequence. But in any case, the garden begins with seeds - be it seeds that are independently collected from grown crops, or purchased in a store, on the market.

Buying seeds is not an easy task, because you need not only to choose the same variety from the variety presented, but also pay attention to the characteristics of the crop. And seeds marked F1 are also usually expensive. And what is their quality? And is it possible to then dial from them own seeds?

What are F1 varieties and how do they differ from regular seeds

In general, the formula F1 refers to hybrid seeds. It comes from the Italian filli, which means “children”, and the one appears as a symbol of the first generation. That is, hybrids are varieties obtained from crossing two other ordinary varieties of a crop, which are the parents of the variety with the designation F1.

Ordinary varietal seeds are obtained through a long process of selection, and carry the same traits, such as yield, color and size of the fruit, taste qualities vegetables, resistance to diseases, pests, weather conditions, etc. Over time, these characteristics of these varieties do not change. That is, seeds from crops grown from ordinary varietal seed will give exactly the same fruits as their parents.

With hybrid seeds, things are different. They inherit the best qualities from their parents, give themselves completely - they grow quickly and give a 100% abundant and beautiful harvest (with the right agricultural technology). But, unfortunately, their signs are not transmitted, so to speak, “by inheritance”. From seeds from vegetables grown from seed F1, you can't get exactly the same crops with the same great traits.

What are the positive characteristics of hybrid seeds?

Breeding hybrid seeds is not accidental. When crossing, they take the best characteristics of their parents that the latter possess. That is, hybrid seeds take away the dominant, pronounced, signs of their parents, and this is what breeders are guided by when breeding a hybrid.

Therefore, as a rule, F1 seeds have increased productivity, resistance to negative weather conditions, successfully resist diseases and pests, the fruits are large and even, differ accelerated growth. As a result, they have a hardiness that ordinary varietal seeds do not have. This is why hybrid seeds (assuming they are true hybrid seeds, of course) germinate even when others don't, and produce good yields in what are considered low yield years. In addition, hybrids are most often self-pollinated, and this is a definite plus.

Of course, given these indicators, it is natural that the cost of seeds with the designation F1 differs from ordinary varieties - they are more expensive. Yes, and getting them takes a lot more time and effort. By purchasing true hybrid, you can be sure that he will give good harvest(sometimes even in bad weather conditions) just in time, and maybe earlier, and his fruits will be large, smooth and fleshy.

How F1 hybrids are made

Hybrid seeds are obtained by crossing varietal seeds. This process is long, moreover, it is done manually, which partly explains the increased cost of the final planting material.

Since F1 seeds obtained by crossing take their dominant traits from their parents, the selection of crossed varieties is carefully considered. For example, they take one variety with increased disease resistance characteristics, and the second variety is abundantly productive. As a result, the producer receives a hybrid that will give a good and healthy mega-crop, and not a single vegetable bush will die from garden diseases.

Or, for example, the first variety will have the main feature of early ripening, and the second - the large size of the fruit, as a result, a large crop will be obtained quickly, even before the ripening period of ordinary varieties. Or one parent will give resistance to bad weather, and the second - precocity. And such signs for each specific species are the sea, and they are transmitted to the seeds of F1 almost in one hundred percent. Although in some cases, "children" outnumber "parents" by 20 percent. unique hybrid are kept secret by manufacturers - from which varieties it was bred.

But obtaining such seeds is troublesome. Firstly, those varieties from which they prefer to get a hybrid are grown in protected ground. But parents must not only have pronounced dominant traits, they must be of the same species, and also be self-pollinating. On one of the plants, at the moment it begins to bloom, the stamens are forcibly removed. And pollen is collected from a plant of a different variety, which, of course, happens with the help of special equipment. The first plant is treated with the obtained pollen. This process lasts for several months, every day, resulting in hybrid seeds.

Disadvantages of F1 seeds

Pro excellent qualities and positive sides use in growing the F1 seed crop, found out. But there is a price to pay for all the pleasures in life. So what negative awaits us when using these seeds?

• First, as we said, cost. The price for hybrid seeds exceeds (and sometimes several times) the prices of ordinary varietal ones.
• Secondly, it is impossible to grow a crop from F1 seeds for the next year. As mentioned above, the second generation of hybrid seeds does not inherit the characteristics of their parents - neither yield, nor early maturity, nor dimensional qualities of fruits, nor resistance to diseases and weather. In other words, it is not worth harvesting seeds from vegetables obtained from F1 planting material - this is from the category of “monkey labor”. These harvested seeds of the second generation may not produce what you expect, and they will grow into an incomprehensible variety of infertile crops. Or fruitful, but not with the expected quality.
• Thirdly, if we turn to the biochemical composition of varietal plants and plants grown from F1 seeds, it is different. Adherents of all natural suggest that the first group is closer to wild plants, which means that it is the usual breeding varieties that give vegetables rich in trace elements and vitamins, while hybrids do not have such a quantity at all. Nonsense, of course - their amino acid composition is normal, but whether the plant has accumulated a sufficient amount of sugars depends on the growing conditions. It is unlikely that a vegetable intended for growing indoors will pick up the "due" glucose in the garden. Therefore, we will single out this point separately.
• Fourth, agricultural technology. Still, no matter what super-properties a hybrid has, it reveals all its excellent characteristics only with proper care. Otherwise, he does not always show them.
• Well, and fifthly, taste. Unfortunately, hybrids do not get all the variety and nuances of taste from their parents. Sometimes they significantly lose to varietal crops in terms of taste, but this is not always the case. Why are hybrid crops thought to taste more like oak? Perhaps this impression was fixed from the purchase of winter greenhouse vegetables. But after all, it is understandable - with a lack of light, photosynthesis is less pronounced, and less glucose is produced.

We can take strawberries as an example - it is clear that wild strawberries are tastier and more aromatic than they are from the garden, and large store-bought strawberries (especially in winter) cannot be compared with them, which has only a small fraction of real taste.

But we, for example, know the most excellent sweet tomatoes from the F1 series - "Red Date", "Yellow Date" and "Orange Date". Our grandchildren love to eat them right from the garden. But in the past rainy summer they did not pick up sweetness - the taste was almost neutral.

Another thing is that when choosing certain qualities in hybridization, an unsuccessful combination can really turn out. For example, the genes responsible for the ideal round shape, and genes that transmit red, in combination, can give absolutely beautiful fruits no taste. Or in pursuit of a hybrid resistant to late blight, we get a sour hybrid.

That is why we prefer to choose crooked-oblique-yellow-green-orange-black-variegated tomatoes. First, there should be variety in the beds. Secondly, if the weather fails, then the taste of your favorite variety can be replaced by an understudy. Yes, sometimes you want to try something new. But over time, the list of preferences settled down, there is always a gentleman's set of "favorites" for landing.

The nuances of growing bunch cucumbers

I would like to add that the taste of hybrids may not live up to expectations, not only because of crossing, but also because of the flaws in agricultural technology. This is especially clearly seen in hybrids of cucumbers, which give a bundle ovary (10-15 greens are formed in the sinuses). Almost all of our friends bought such F1 varieties and were disappointed - none of them had a picture from the cover. Most likely, the scheme of plant formation is simply not taken into account. And on the bag of seeds there must be a drawing. Briefly, the meaning of the formation is as follows:

• you need to keep the central whip, and not translate it into side shoots as was customary when growing old varieties;
• blind the lower 5-10 (depending on the variety) of the node - leave only the leaves, and remove the side branches and embryos of the greens completely.

That is, the technique is the same as for peppers, when we remove the first ovary, we “save” strength and nutrients for a bountiful future. The plant must develop good root system and gain what is called the appropriate green mass, then the harvest will be impressive.

And if you do not blind, then the plant produces as usual - one, well, two cucumbers is formed in each node. But they are early, you say. But after all, for the early ones, it is possible and cheaper planting material plant, right? Why ruin the elite rastyukha?

We hope you figured out what the abbreviation F1 means on seeds, and you can safely select varieties for open and closed ground. Do not stop at one variety, grow a wide range of even one crop - this will save you from disappointment in a bad year and there will be something to compare!