Quick garden plant genetics question

August 26, 2015 6:52 AM

Out of about 20 okra plants from the same purchased seed packet, I have one that's an especially good fruit producer - maybe 50% more than his neighbors. Is it worth my time to make a special effort to plant next years crop only from his seeds, or does this fall within the range of random variation / don't bother?
posted by ftm to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Best answer: It really falls to whether it is a hybrid or open-pollinated variety of okra. If the original seed packet was sold as "heirloom" or similar there is a chance it is open-pollinated and subsequent plants will resemble a parent. If the seeds were hybrid seeds from a big corporate source like Burpee there's a good chance the offspring plants will be different from the parent. Either way, if you save and grow seeds from plants you like and keep that up for a number of years, you will start selecting for the traits you like. Starting with open-pollinated gives you a leg up on that process.
posted by werkzeuger at 7:43 AM on August 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding werkzeuger, but a quick anecdote: I grew up in rural, agricultural America. Seed saving and sharing was not seen as cool when I was a kid, and the 'heirloom' movement hadn't yet been popularly branded as such, but my mom and dad were really into it. My parents' preferred plants were tomatoes, bell peppers, and marigolds. In all three groups, they've selectively propagated a few varietals of each of these plants over the last 45 or so years to the point that I can visually pick them out of a produce line-up (especially against standardized commercial varieties). Nothing fancy, mostly size/color, but exactly what you're talking about.

I have scarlet runner beans and arugula seeds that I've been selectively saving and growing for about the last ten years, through several cross country moves to cities with very different climate profiles. I really hope I can maintain this long enough--as long as my parents have done it--to see the emergence of some trait.

So: yes, worth your time, but probably more iteratively than you suspect.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:31 AM on August 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Yes!! Totally absolutely worth a try. You'll be selecting for the traits that work in your climate, your soil, yes. If you want to keep harvesting fruits from the plant, allow only one or two pods to fully mature and dry out on the plant. Maturing pods on the plant will inhibit new ones from forming.

Also, It's important that you say you have around 20 plants, because the recommended genepool for okra is around 25 plants. This ensures that the seeds should contain enough genetic diversity to produce vigorous, healthy offspring.
posted by hannahelastic at 3:01 AM on August 27, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hrmmm... that might explain some of the trouble we've had in previous years!

Okay, I'll let a couple of Golden Boy's pods mature, although it pains me that it's going to slow down his fruit production. Sliced thin, the long way, low oven until they're dry like chips... Thanks yall!
posted by ftm at 7:33 AM on August 27, 2015