Re: Hybrid Vigor

>I believe a some people on this list misunderstand the concept of hybrid
>vigor.
>
>They believe crossing the pollen from one large pumpkin plant with a female
>flower from an other large pumpkin plant will result in something greater
>than the result of two large pumpkin plants crossing. While this might be
>an fun and interesting way of selecting for large pumpkin genes, it does
>not create anything even remotely aproaching the kind of results which come
>from hybridization - the reason for intentional crossing.
>
>Example of hybrid vigor in sweet corn:  Silver Queen  X  Country Gentleman
>
>Silver Queen has 25 sugar genes and Country Gentleman has 31 sugar genes.
>
>If you cross them - take the pollen from one and place it upon the ear of
>the other -
>then save the seed and plant it out the next year - you obtain a brand new
>variety of corn that has the equivalent sweetness of a 50 sugar gene ear of
>corn.  If you save seed from this hybrid, plant it out the next season,
>you'll obtain a wide variety of corn ears with sugars that range anywhere
>from 25-31.
>
>Now lets imagine the same with pumpkins.
>
>Chirs Andersen grew two pumpkin plants.  One was a Greer 1006 and the other
>a Zeher 1061.  He crossed the flowers of these two plants and won the 1997
>championship with a 996 lb pumpkin.
>
>The seed from Andersen 996 can certainly be expected to produce really big
>pumpkins, if given a great deal of TLC.  It has a wonderful genetic
>background, but most importantly it came from the biggest competition
>pumpkin of the season.  There were probably many other 1006X1061 crosses,
>however, none as big.  So it should be a greater advantage to grow the seed
>of 996 Andersen over any other seed currently available.
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I think most can get a grip on Hybrid vigor.  Distinctly different
varieties make the hybrid.  Plant seed from this hybrid will only result in
who knows which parent it will return to .   but what i can't seem to get a
grip on is logically what you say Michael makes sense..But these pumpkins
seem to set there own rules.  Why are a great deal of the larger pumpkins
grown from under 700?  Why was the 567mombert able to produce rather
consistantly much larger pumpkins than it ever had in its past.  More
consisantly than any other seed.  Then almost all the off spring produces
mediocre pumpkins....Why do some growers not really expect much from the
large pumpkins.  Because most take a year off?. The 990 was a great example
of this....  There are alot of top growers that did not plant the 1006
because of this theory.  So we think we figured it out and the 1006
produces quite a few decent pumpkins.  Why do most large pumpkins only seem
to have a few seeds that will duplicate the huge parent and the rest will
only produce average ones.??  Why do growers sell there home to buy more
growing space. Skip taking a vacation,  Spend all there money on timers and
fert injectors and compost.........**** I'll tell you why because this is a
alien conspiracy .....Tie up the great minds of the world total consumed by
the chase of the great pumpkin  While they take over the
world!!!.................................keeping my eyes open..... Brock
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