Congo Watermelon and Sangria Watermelon hybrid

9 years ago

Hi everybody. I'm new to this forum and the whole hybridizing thing, but it has always interested me, so I'm finally going to play mad scientist and do some experimenting with watermelons. My main questions are:
1. Is it better to cross the Congo x Sangria, Sangria x Congo, or both simultaneously?

2. Once I do the cross(es), and I plant the seeds next season, will the two plants produce identical melons, or will each watermelon on each plant be unique with a different set of genes?

3. If I have both of the new hybrids in close proximity of each other and they pollenate one another, will it strengthen the hybrids' genes or will it change it again to a completely new hybrid?

4. For example, If I like the Sangria x Congo cross and I want to strengthen that line, making it into a new variety of watermelon, do I let the male flowers on that particular plant pollenate the female flowers on the same plant or do I have to have two of the same parent plants to strengthen the line?

5. What happens if I take the hybrid and re-cross it with one of the parent plant varieties? For example, I take the Sangria x Congo cross and re-cross it with another Congo watermelon variety.

To Sum it up, if I like the one or both of the new hybrids, I want to turn it/them into an Heirloom variety.
Sorry for all the questions, but I am extremely fascinated and intrigued with the whole concept of creating the new "NOW" watermelon. I do realize that I could probably create the worst watermelon ever created too. If you think you can assist, please don't hesitate to post or you can email me at Beckerjeremey101@gmail.com.

Thank you very much in advance everybody for your advice and assistance.

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Comments (2)

donnaz5
9 years ago
wow..lots of questions! You need to read a basic book on hybridizing...you need a goal, too..
First..when you cross 2 plants, no telling what you'll get..plant them out and cull the weak and plants that don't have what you're looking for.
1. No..they will not produce identical melons, but generally..may make your crosses stronger..but not stable..they are two different things.
  3. New hybrids
  4. read up on "inbreeding depression"
  Buy yourself a good book on hybridizing!!!!!
Mokinu
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
If you want things to be easier, you should have Congo be the mother and Sangria be the father. The reason is that Sangria is already an F1 hybrid, and isn't stable. So, you'll be able to tell if Congo is a cross more easily, since it'll just be Congo (and look/taste like Congo) if it didn't cross. Whereas, if you have Sangria F1 as the mother, it'll still be different whether or not it was cross-pollinated. You could easily breed new kinds of watermelon out of Sangria without doing any crossing.

If you're confident you can do the cross, I'd say, do both. That way you can see the differences the different kinds of DNA have on them (e.g. mtDNA, cpDNA, etc.) I believe the mother line normally passes those down (sans the regular chromosomal DNA, half of which comes from each parent).

The first generation of your crosses will have all of Congo's dominant traits. Because Sangria F1 is an F1 hybrid, its dominant traits might be heterozygous, which means they might not pass onto the children; those that aren't heterozygous will be passed on for sure to the first generation of your cross.

The second, third, etc. generation of your cross will be much more varied in the results. To stabilize the cross, you'll need to make sure each gene is homozygous. All expressed recessive traits are already homozygous. It's the expressed dominant traits you need to worry about, because they can have hidden recessive alleles.

Of course, genetics are probably a lot more complex than this—but it's a start.

Breeding entirely new watermelons through hybridization is going to be a lot easier than trying to stabilize the F1 hybrid (and you might find it more rewarding)—because then you don't have to worry so much about getting a specific set of traits. As long as it's stabilized and you like it, you're good to go.
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donnaz5

Mokinu

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