Re: Hybrid Vigor
I agree with you that mules are a good example of hybrid
vigor, but it doesn't apply to the Checkon's pumkins. Mules
are hybrids of two species, horses and donkeys(don't ask me
for the specie names), but the Checkon's pumpkins ancestors
are of the same specie C. maxima. Not only that, they're
from the same "breed" of C. maxima, Atlantic Giant.
Hybrid vigor also exists in in-specie breeding, such as
the cornish cross chickens (white Plymouth Rock X white
Cornish)I refered to in an earlier posting, where your
breeding two breeds of the same specie. In this case you
have larger, faster growing birds than either parent, but
they're still sexually viable, and they're still chickens.
Even this isn't an applicable example of what's going on
with AGs, it'd be like breeding AGs with Big Max pumkins,
or even Connecticut Field pumpkins.
We're also missaplying the term hybrids too. Hybrid
parents will not produce offspring similar to the parents.
If this were the case then cornish cross would be a new
breed. Instead they produce throwbacks that don't display
the desired carictaristics(sp?) of the parents. So to
produce more of the same type you have to keep breeding the
two original breeds to get the desired hybrid. Professional
seed companies make lots of money doing this every year. I
don't know which peas to cross to get sugarsnap peas, or
which corns to cross to get a supersweet, nor would I
bother if I did. I can spend a couple of bucks and have
someone else do it for me. But AGs when crossed produce
AGs, even if it's a squash it's still an AG.
If we assume that AGs are a "breed", that is mating two
AGs will produce another AG, and not a throw back,then
we're dealing with with breeding "strains of a breed.
And if you've bothered to read this far in this rant,
what does this have to do with growing bigger pumpkins?
Maybe not a whole lot, but we do need to instill some
definitions to our terminology to avoid confusion, and
maybe set people on the road to bigger pumpkins.
It's my gut feeling that true strains have not yet been
defined in AGs by growers. That so many different gene
types are floating around that breeding strain Y with
strain Z will not result in a known performance in pumpkin
XY. Some growers are getting close, the performance of some
lines point that way. So some line breeding is probably a
good thing to do to establish pumpkins that perform in a
reliable manner. I doubt that this will ever happen
however, most people don't have the time, garden space, or
money to do this. The agricultural colleges, government, or
agribusinesses won't bother, there's no money in it. So
we're left with peoples best guesses and gut instincts,
which is much more fun in the long run anyway, and isn't
that why we're growing them in the first place.
My last point is Hybridism doesn't always produce "vigor",
in many cases is has the opposite effect. Look at the
effects of many mutt dogs, a few combine the good qualities
of both parents, some many of the bad, others are just
dogs.
In a few cases in the long history of breeding, man has
found a few crosses that work, and work so well they've led
to the hybrid vigor mystique, because those crosses are
repeated. Most of the postings on this, mine included,
usually refer to successes of the animals, but the
majority of domestic vegetables are hybrids. So it sure can
be applied to pumpkins.
If any of this sounds wrong to any of you, feel free to
weigh in with better or more complete info. I'm not yet
experimenting with AG genetics myself, I'm still working on
improving growing technique. I would sure be interested in
aquiring a strain that likes hot days and cool nights in
gravely soil. But unless someone lets me know that they've
got that strain I'll probably start the genetic search for
the AG that likes my back yard the best. I only have room
for two plants, and I'll only be starting on my 3rd year,
so it'll probably take me the rest of my life to find the
perfect strain, but that's the fun of it!
--- Ray Sykora <rsykora@win.bright.net> wrote:
=====
Good fishing!
Matt Moore
Visit my Severum Page at:
http://www.virtualseeds.com/matt.html
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