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Re: purifying a seed strain



Marian D. Potts wrote:

>   I recently got some black butter beans that are supposed to be an
> heirloom variety from Pennsylvania. Unfortunately the last people
> growing them contaminated the strain by growing them near green butter
> beans. The seed are a mix  of black (more like a very dark red), a
> mottled red similar to pinto, and a dark reddish brown. I have sorted
> these and plan to to plant them separately to see how they segregate. My
> question is, How do I rogue the plants within each batch? Wait until the
> seeds start to color, then rogue and strip all beans off the remaining
> plants, wait for new flowers and hope for the best?
>

Beans in general do not cross pollinate that much - most cross pollination
is due to bees. It may very well be that the heirloom strain contains all
these variants. If you want a purer strain, my copy of The New Seed
Starter's Bible says to seperate them by at least 100 feet. You could also
try staggering the sowing dates. Or just plant the type you are most
interested in preserving, and ignore the rest!

In terms of roguing, if you don't have a need for lots of seed, you could
paper-bag some flowers before they open - that way you are sure that the
seed you get is from that plant's self-cross, and they should closely
approximate the traits you see in the next generation. The goal is not just
to sort the beans you get THIS year, but to be more certain of what the seed
beans will produce NEXT year.

If you grow small lots and bag, you can collect seed from every plant. This
is useful because you may spot a plant that is a good producer, or disease
resistant - and you may want to include that trait in the strain.You also
want to evaluate keeping and cooking qualities.  I wouldn't get too
selective too soon.

Ben
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