Chilli (and Pepper) cross pollination etc

[nomis]

Im still a little puzzled as to how this works. Im not trying to do it deliberately but am curious on the workings of it all.

If you have a habanero next to a scotch bonnet for example and a bee takes pollon from one to another.... does it affect this current generation of fruit? Or does it only affect the seeds and therefore the next generation made from saved seeds, or what?

Does anyone have experience with this?



I have 3 twilights and the one closest to the jalapeños has a few red fruit,whereas the other 2 twilights have only purple.

[Capsid]

The seed may be affected, as it will be a result of the hybridisation of the DNA of the two plants. The current fruit is not hybridised, only the seed. Hybridisation is not very efficient so if the plant is pollinated from a plant of the same species the seed from that will develop in preference. When hybridising plants the flower is usually isolated so that no further pollination can occur.

Well that's my understanding.

[nomis]

So I wont end up with some obscure looking Bhut Cholokias this year then

[LolaLou]

I think I've got a cross-pollinated chilli plant on the go......now I know for sure that it was EITHER a sweet red pepper OR a hungarian black chilli. When it first grew it looked more like the peppers but as time went on it developed the dark markings of the chillies in its 'nooks and crannies' so I assumed it was a hungarian black. Until it started fruiting....the hungarian black flowers are the most beautiful purple colour and the resulting fruits are lovely and fat and dark purple/black (at the moment anyway).... but this chilli has white flowers with just purple around the tips (like they've been painted) and the fruits are long and thin and pale green (at the moment) so I'm very interested to find out what they ripen to and how they taste! I might accidentally have stumbled across my own new strain of chilli!!! It didn't come from an F1 seed so if its good, I'll save some and grow on again next year....watch this space for 'Lola's Revenge' or something if its a hot one!!

[nomis]

watch this space for 'Lola's Revenge' or something if its a hot one!!

Consider the space watched

[OllieMartin]

Yes, I believe they can cross pollinate as both Habanero and Scotch Bonnet are Capsicum chinense species. But cross-species cannot.
I believe chillies are very promiscuous and cross-pollinate very very easily unless they are totally isolated. Hence why there are so many different varieties.

[taff]

If you have a habanero next to a scotch bonnet for example and a bee takes pollon from one to another.... does it affect this current generation of fruit? Or does it only affect the seeds and therefore the next generation made from saved seeds, or what?

It wiull affect the next generation, i.e any seeds you save from the fruit will be affected.

I've done it with toms and squash...by accident and due to noobieness.

[Snadger]

Oh dear! I have seven different varieties of hot chilli's and three different sweet chilli's growing together in a greenhouse together. I was hoping to save seed from the best ones for next year so may end up with a right hotchpotch.

Could have some 'interesting' chilli's next year!

[Veggiemama]

I have 22 buckets of sweet peppers and 4 different chillis all growing side by side in the polytunnel.

I also had hoped to overwinter some and save some seed.

Quite looking forward to the outcome when i save the seed

VM

[zazen999]

If you do want to try and get the same chili peppers the next year - tie a piece of muslin cloth over at least 2 flowers; before they open. Once they are open [you have to time it right], using a clean pantbrush, take the muslin off and paint pollen from all the isolated ones on the same plant to each other - really mix it up. Then tie the muslin back on, and tie a piece of visible string onto the stem of each pepper. Then don't harvest until it reaches maturity.

Try each one, and if it is the heat [and the shape] and the taste that you want; keep the seeds.

[Snadger]

If you do want to try and get the same chili peppers the next year - tie a piece of muslin cloth over at least 2 flowers; before they open. Once they are open [you have to time it right], using a clean pantbrush, take the muslin off and paint pollen from all the isolated ones on the same plant to each other - really mix it up. Then tie the muslin back on, and tie a piece of visible string onto the stem of each pepper. Then don't harvest until it reaches maturity.

Try each one, and if it is the heat [and the shape] and the taste that you want; keep the seeds.

So I need to tie a bit of muslin on the genitalia.........sounds kool!

[Alison]

I'm not very good at remembering to hand pollinate so have decided to just save one variety each year by growing them in the greenhouse at home and everything else in the polytunnel. Although I grow several varieties I don't have many of each so the seeds last a good few years so this should work OK (it's a plan anyway)