What do the F-whatever mean

TJS · April 7, 2007

Sorry to ask this question but here goes.
I know that F1, F2, F3, have something to do with new generations of the original parent but am clueless why this is important.
Thanks, Tim

feldon30 · April 7, 2007

Let's say you take the pollen of tomato variety A (the donor) and transfer it to the stamen of tomato variety B (the recipient). The fruit from that particular blossom on variety B will be a crossed tomato. When that tomato ripens, it will look exactly the same as the other tomatoes on plant B, but the seeds will different -- they contain DNA from variety A and variety B.

When you save and grow those F1 seeds, you will then see the result of crossing A and B. You will see desirable traits of variety A and variety B show up in this HYBRID plant.

What gets interesting is if you save seeds out of those tomatoes grown from that hybrid plant and grow them the next year, because those will be F2 or (filial generation 2), and you can see some huge differences. For instance, if plant A was an orange tomato and plant B was a purple tomato, then in F2, you might get reds, pinks, oranges, purples, different leaf types, etc. etc.

Seed companies have workers in 3rd world countries grow and cross 2 different tomato plants every few years to get enough "crossed" fruits to get enough seeds to fill those seed packets of Big Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_hybrid

TJS · April 7, 2007

Thankyou, feldon 30
Still not sure I get it but will digest your posting.
Thanks again, Tim

**tomatoaddict** · April 7, 2007

Is that true Feldon? About the third world workers crossing for big seed companies? I didn't know that. It makes me feel really bad. Makes me glad that I don't buy those kind of seeds.

feldon30 · April 8, 2007

I guess the alternative would be them not having a job. I don't want to get into the politics of it.

I am growing four hybrids this year. Jet Star, Sungold, Brandy Boy, and Husky Red Cherry (saw a plant and couldn't resist).

**Mischka** · April 8, 2007

These have been "stickied" in the Crosstalk forum.

The first attachment explains how hybrids are produced.

The second attachment is authored by Jeff McCormack PhD. and it explains seed production methods in detail.

April 7, 2007	#1
TJS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chas SC Posts: 70	What do the F-whatever mean Sorry to ask this question but here goes. I know that F1, F2, F3, have something to do with new generations of the original parent but am clueless why this is important. Thanks, Tim

April 7, 2007	#4
tomatoaddict Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: zone 5 Posts: 1,459	Is that true Feldon? About the third world workers crossing for big seed companies? I didn't know that. It makes me feel really bad. Makes me glad that I don't buy those kind of seeds. __________________ Secretseedcartel.com

April 7, 2007	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Let's say you take the pollen of tomato variety A (the donor) and transfer it to the stamen of tomato variety B (the recipient). The fruit from that particular blossom on variety B will be a crossed tomato. When that tomato ripens, it will look exactly the same as the other tomatoes on plant B, but the seeds will different -- they contain DNA from variety A and variety B. When you save and grow those F1 seeds, you will then see the result of crossing A and B. You will see desirable traits of variety A and variety B show up in this HYBRID plant. What gets interesting is if you save seeds out of those tomatoes grown from that hybrid plant and grow them the next year, because those will be F2 or (filial generation 2), and you can see some huge differences. For instance, if plant A was an orange tomato and plant B was a purple tomato, then in F2, you might get reds, pinks, oranges, purples, different leaf types, etc. etc. Seed companies have workers in 3rd world countries grow and cross 2 different tomato plants every few years to get enough "crossed" fruits to get enough seeds to fill those seed packets of Big Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_hybrid

April 8, 2007	#5
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	I guess the alternative would be them not having a job. I don't want to get into the politics of it. I am growing four hybrids this year. Jet Star, Sungold, Brandy Boy, and Husky Red Cherry (saw a plant and couldn't resist).