Hot & Sweet Peppers - Cross-Pollinatiion - Page 2

rockhound · January 22, 2012

Kath, that would work, (keeping the plant in a greenhouse until after pollination) the problem is it will continue to bloom and some blossoms might cross, so you have to mark the already set peppers well or just remove all new buds/blooms until you can harvest your seed.

kath · January 22, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockhound

Kath, that would work, (keeping the plant in a greenhouse until after pollination) the problem is it will continue to bloom and some blossoms might cross, so you have to mark the already set peppers well or just remove all new buds/blooms until you can harvest your seed.

Yes, the plan was to mark the first one or two peppers once they had set and looked good- I don't need to save much seed. I had originally thought about janezee's idea but it sounds like too much work for the amount of seed I want to save.

I think I may have misunderstood one of the previous posts- I had gotten the idea that maybe pepper pollen is finer than tomato pollen and would be capable of penetrating the covering that janezee describes or that would be provided by tulle bags. If that's not the case, I could probably just try to bag the blossoms outdoors with tulle bags.

The window screening idea sure does sound useless for preventing airborne pollen contamination- not sure what just preventing insect pollination would accomplish.

rockhound · January 23, 2012

Peppers are usually self-pollinated and sometimes insect-pollinated. I don't think wind plays a major part, of course I could be wrong. The screen is to keep the bugs and their load of pollen out.

botanophilia · January 31, 2012

Most flowering plants are insect pollinated and the pollen is generally too heavy to be sufficiently dispersed by wind. In the case of plants like tomatoes and peppers, they are pollinated mainly by agitation, like that caused by wind or insects. Peppers are more easily cross-pollinated by insects, so they need seperation or isolation. I won't say that wind pollination is impossible, but it is unlikely.

Moshou · January 31, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by botanophilia

Most flowering plants are insect pollinated and the pollen is generally too heavy to be sufficiently dispersed by wind. In the case of plants like tomatoes and peppers, they are pollinated mainly by agitation, like that caused by wind or insects. Peppers are more easily cross-pollinated by insects, so they need seperation or isolation. I won't say that wind pollination is impossible, but it is unlikely.

Please let us know what you mean by 'seperation or isolation'. I am a newbie very interested to fight (as much as I can) cross pollination in tomatoes and peppers.

Advanced thanks

Moshou

tjg911 · January 31, 2012

i read somewhere that 500' is required to isolate! most people don't have that much land to be able to do that.

tom

Petronius_II · January 31, 2012

I went to a lot of trouble to write this and I ain't a-gonna write it all over again:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....8&postcount=68

...As far as other topics on this thread, other people have already written most of what I would've written if I'd come along earlier, so there ya go...

botanophilia · January 31, 2012

I should clarify my post, seperation and isolation are pretty much the same thing. I should have used isolation or exclusion. That's what happens when I write posts near 2am. It all comes down to preventing pollinators from crossing varieties. Isolation is prevention by distance, which 500' is sufficient for purity. This number isn't feasible for most home gardeners, it's used more often for farmers that save their own seed or seed producers. Exclusion is using bags or cages to physically prevent the pollinators from reaching the flowers. I highly recommend reading Seed to Seed from SSE.

Petronius_II · January 31, 2012

I also can't say enough good things about Nancy Bubel's book, either the first edition or the revised:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Seed-Start...8028322&sr=8-1

January 31, 2012	#21
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	i read somewhere that 500' is required to isolate! most people don't have that much land to be able to do that. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

January 22, 2012	#16
rockhound Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 285	Kath, that would work, (keeping the plant in a greenhouse until after pollination) the problem is it will continue to bloom and some blossoms might cross, so you have to mark the already set peppers well or just remove all new buds/blooms until you can harvest your seed.

January 23, 2012	#18
rockhound Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 285	Peppers are usually self-pollinated and sometimes insect-pollinated. I don't think wind plays a major part, of course I could be wrong. The screen is to keep the bugs and their load of pollen out.

January 31, 2012	#19
botanophilia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Oostburg, WI Posts: 11	Most flowering plants are insect pollinated and the pollen is generally too heavy to be sufficiently dispersed by wind. In the case of plants like tomatoes and peppers, they are pollinated mainly by agitation, like that caused by wind or insects. Peppers are more easily cross-pollinated by insects, so they need seperation or isolation. I won't say that wind pollination is impossible, but it is unlikely.

January 31, 2012	#22
Petronius_II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 7a Posts: 209	I went to a lot of trouble to write this and I ain't a-gonna write it all over again: http://www.tomatoville.com/showpost....8&postcount=68 ...As far as other topics on this thread, other people have already written most of what I would've written if I'd come along earlier, so there ya go...