From Seed to Seed:
Plant Science for K-8 Educators

Digging Deeper

Hybrids and Hybridization

Now let's bring all this back to the garden. Consider this question:

What is an F₁ hybrid, and why should gardeners not save seeds from hybrid plants for next year's garden?

Hybrid is one of those words frequently seen in seed catalogs; however, many gardeners aren't sure exactly what the term means. A hybrid is the offspring resulting from a cross between two different varieties or species. Note, however, that the term F₁ hybrid has a more specific meaning. It is the first generation resulting from a cross between two pure parent lines. You may have heard recommendations for choosing F₁ hybrid seeds, because the plants tend to be more uniform in their growing habit, fruit quality, and other characteristics. Now that you've seen the uniformity that resulted from Mendel's initial cross between two pure parents (remember, the first, F₁, generation all had yellow seeds) it should begin to make sense why hybrids are touted for their uniformity.

Why are gardeners advised against saving the seeds from hybrid plants to sow the following season? Again, think back to Mendel. Remember that when he self-pollinated the F₁ hybrids, there was variation in the next (F₂) generation of plants. One out of four plants expressed the recessive trait, in this case, green seeds. If you plant seeds from hybrids, you may end up with plants showing unfavorable recessive traits-traits that didn't show up in the first (F₁) generation, the seeds you purchased.

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