Hybrid Vigor

[Rimbaud]

I was reading an article in the January 30th 2010 issue of The Economist magazine and they had an interesting article called "Shelling Out". It discusses an event where "...two wimpy specimens sometimes produces strong offspring..." but the problem is when you try to have those offspring breed normally you go back to wimpy specimens to use their term.

This new study found out a solution. This is more easily explained (due to my inability) with an example:

We have 4 Parent strains: 6, 7, 8, and 9.

We have two hybrids that produce good results: (6x7) and (8x9)

If we breed (6x7) and (6x7) we get wimpy results, same with (8x9), however if we mix things up...
(6x7) and (8x9) you can end up with a super-hybrid of 6x7x8x9 that is now stable and can be bred normally! :character0103:

Just thought I would pass this on as it seems like a way to make some use of otherwise throw away moms and pops.

-R:

 

[Blaze]

Yep out-outcrossed F1's and di-hybrid crosses can get some amazing results. Why so many people obsess over IBL's and back-crosses is beyond me - the results are usually crap when compared to other methods.

 

[altitudefarmer]

All the IBLs I've worked with eventually lost vigor and quality, so I agree with Blaze. It was probably more my fault than the strains themselves, but some varieties did not degrade. I have been reading extensively in this forum and now understand better how to prevent genetic "drift"- Shanti's method of moving the mamas outside for a few months every year makes perfect sense. Rimbaud, nice post. I may be giving your method a shot when I cross some of my strains. Plenty of time to think about that, though, I want to make sure I'm doing it right by the time I get my fingers dirty in that arena...lol Peace

 

[Blaze]

All the IBLs I've worked with eventually lost vigor and quality, so I agree with Blaze. It was probably more my fault than the strains themselves, but some varieties did not degrade.

I doubt it was your fault at all. Most IBL's suffer from inbreeding depression, plain and simple. Often they are not even all that stable either. F1's will almost always produce a more stable result than an IBL, and will not suffer from genetic depression.