Re: 10 years ago

Title: Re: 10 years ago
Glenn great comments.  Surprise is the name of the game!! What I mean by selection is purely ones that have been sound.   The success stories help make certain genes make the honor roll.  By going back and using a "classic" is as good as any seed  decision.  But you run the risk of reintroducing quirks into your new cross .  Ones that had been dropped by the successful surviviors. It maybe a better choice to grow from the largest success story that has the genes you like. Like  Bretts.  One thing we don't know is what caused the hole in the 954...is it genetic or was it caused by rapid growth.....will the weakness be passed to the offspring.  Its all about getting them big and holding together.......

If I had a chance to plant 567.5 mombert,705 stelts or Calai846 i probably would choose one of the latter.  why is because it seems that the 567.5 has reached its potential around 950....if the great grower Kirk M. can't milk it for more ..I know i couldn't...................... but further down the road years later the new mix has reached a higher potential.  Going back has never worked for me but doesn't mean you couldn't pull it off.  Its all the individual ideas, diversity that will blaze new trails.....

MB

When dealling with squash mike, my opinion is the selection process just hasn't been there. Its not like pumpkins (yet) where  so many grow a seed there's an opportunity to see what it can or cant do. The 502.5 clone i have is on Al's list...I selected it based upon its qualities in my garden and before that I chose to grow it because it was a source of some qualities we see in todays fruits and plants....like the 616corkum,697ciliberto and 1006greer.
If its good enough to be one in 10 on Al's list that has survived, then why wouldn't it be great today? Its already a proven  genetic asset......perhaps not all of todays gains are selection related? (Im not saying its not....completely). Perhaps if a guy like Brett or Geneva or Al (or you) took one of these and grew it today it would be a biggie? Cultural advances and info sharing are a big part of the story........in the past few years we've seen Brett take a 1994 seed and pop 862....895....986....from it when for 5-6 years before that no-one was growing anything too big from it. You would think the Hoult 1010 would have inspired a bunch of big guns to get something big...but noone did after that...and its been  widely grown. (900lyons). Take todays cultural knoweledge and yesterdays seed and you might be surprised.............................................G


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