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Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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Posted by
KendraSchmidt none (
My Page) on
Mon, Nov 26, 12 at 13:20
| I have a quick question about vegetables (and even fruiting plants). I'd like to know how I can tell if a plant that I have is self-fertile. (E.g. collards, corn, etc) What exactly does self-fertile mean? Please help. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Are you hoping to save seed? If not it doesn't matter whether a plant is self fertile or not unless it is a plant of which you eat the fruit. e.g. tomatoes, peppers. For collards it would be irrelevant because you harvest the leaves, not the fruit. Self-fertile just means a plant can produce fruit by itself without pollen from another plant. It is not the same as self-pollinating which means that a plant is not only self fertile but also does not need an agent (eg insect, wind etc) to pollinate itself. You can't tell if a plant is self fertile by any sort of rules. You just have to look it up to find out. However, if there is a problem with pollination seed packets/nurseries should mention it. Especially fruit nurseries. |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Thank you Flora, so that means that something that's just grown for leafy greens like arugula or lettuce, etc doesn't have any self-fertility to begin with because it doesn't put out fruit, but leaves? |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Leafy greens may or may not have self-fertility. Like all flowering plants, they produce seed by sexual reproduction. However, unless you want to save your own seed, that is not relevant to you. You are only interested in the leaves, not the seed. |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Self-fertile means that a plant produce both male and female flowers and is capable of pollinating itself to produce seed. Corn, Tomato, Lettuce, Squash, beans, melons, etc. are examples of self-fertile crops. There are many variations plants use to limit the above because there is a decided genetic advantage to out-crossing. Some plants have genes that detect pollen from self-pollination and prevent it from forming pollen tubes. Other plants separate male and female flowers so that pollen has to move from one to the other. Many trees like pecan are dichogomous producing mature pollen and then after a few days, producing mature stigmas or vice versa. There are several other mechanisms with similar results. DarJones |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| A selfing plant can produce viable seed without another plant being present. Some plants, like squash, have both male and female flowers. Others, like tomato have flowers that contain both male and female parts. The only way to know if a plant can self is to do genetic tests. You place a plant's own pollen on it's female part (the stigma) and then you enclose the flower, to make sure no other pollen gets to it. If it produces viable seed, it can self. |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| "Self-fertile means that a plant produce both male and female flowers" .. DarJones, I think you meant to say "both male and female flower parts". Not all self fertile plants have separate male and female flowers, as jonfrum explained. KendraSchmidt - do you want to save your own seed? If not self fertility is not important to you except for plants you are growing for fruit. |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Bottom line. Self fertile is not a normal concern for vegetable growers. Fruit growers, yes, because many cultivars require two different cultivars to bear fruit. only a few vegetable cultivars ( seedless watermelons for example) require a pollenizer. Cucurbits and grasses like corn do have separate male and female parts on the same plant and require an external agent (insects and wind respectively) Self fertile tho just means that a plant does not need a pollenizer ( different cultivar) to produce seed. |
RE: Question about self-fertile veggie plants
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| Okay perfect, thanks everyone for the helpful responses. |
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