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Old July 16, 2019   #2
bower
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
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Hi Keith,
You can move forward in the F3 just by saving seed from your best flavored fruit. But if you happen to have more than one which is just as tasty, it is worthwhile to save seeds from more than one. You might grow your favorite forward and be perfectly satisfied, but sometimes you can end up missing an important trait as you go forward. Foliage health, growth habit, productivity, shape, just tossing out some side issues that could be a source of disappointment if there happens to be a miss. You can even end up with a miss on the taste.
So I like to save some seeds from siblings in each generation where there is no obvious lack of merit but for one reason or another didn't make top choice. It's a way of hedging your bets, not only if you have to go back to recover a trait, but you can also grow out two siblings and backcross them to firm up a trait you're looking for.
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