F1 Hybrid plants
| Published: 17th June 2008 10:45 |
We often see the term ‘F1 Hybrid' on seed packets or in catalogues but what does it mean? F1 stands for ‘Filial 1 - the first filial generation seeds or plants.
Seeds are produced by pollination, most commonly by bees and insects but also, in the case of grasses, for instance, by wind. Plants that attract insects or bees stimulate their sense of vision or smell. Bees have ultra-violet vision and can pick out patterns on flowers - ‘honey guides'.
Bees and butterflies, however, do not worry which plants they use for attracting and carrying pollen and they flit from flower to flower in the open ground. This is known as open pollination. As a result of this, any seed gathered from a plant pollinated randomly will not germinate true to type. It is possible, for example, for seed pollinated from a pink aquilegia plant to produce a blue aquilegia.
This is one of the wonders of nature and, often by accidental means such as this, new varieties of well-loved plants may be developed.
With this open pollination, however, control is taken away from the production of a new plant from seed and shape, form or colour will not be guaranteed. That treasured white poppy which grows at a constant 1 ft. tall may be replaced by a gangly red variety which is too tall for the area where it grows!
F1 hybrids are the first generation of plants resulting from a controlled cross between parents that are genetically different. F1 hybrids can be of great benefit to growers, as the hybrids can produce higher yields, controlled harvesting (as in vegetables) and varieties true to colour. 
In order to have more control over size, shape, colour, therefore, pollination needs to be carefully monitored. This is where the specialist grower comes to the fore. To control pollination, the grower needs to exclude the precious F1 flower from the open pollination. Usually, this is carried out by the covering of the flower with a paper bag (not plastic, as the plant will ‘sweat'!). The bag is taken off and the flower pollinated by dusting it manually, generally with a paintbrush or something similar. The paper bag is then replaced and the F1 hybridisation takes place.
Production of seed is by sexual reproduction but there is another way of propagating F1 hybrid plants and that is by effectively cloning them by vegetative propagation. This is done by taking parts of a parent plant and reproducing the plant. Examples of this would be by cuttings, division or layering.
On occasions, it is possible to develop an F1 hybrid plant that is resistant to pests and diseases -‘flyaway' carrot is said to be resistant to cabbage root fly and Thompson and Morgan have a cabbage - Kilaton F1 hybrid - and a cauliflower - Clapton F1 hybrid - said to be resistant to club root. These could be the answers to many gardeners' prayers!
There are so many advantages to growing F1 hybrid plants but with these advantages come a few limitations as well. Cost of seed is a major factor and often the seed packets may only contain a handful of seeds. In addition, whilst bringing on and harvesting vegetable crops to mature at the same time may be a big bonus for the commercial grower, several F1 hybrid plants maturing for harvest at the same time can be an encumbrance and embarrassment to the amateur grower. There are only so many plants to be given away at any one time!Martin Horne
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