this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2024
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You've underestimated it by a bit. It takes 2-3 generations to increase the inbred seed quantities after selfing. So figure 20 years. Plus the female line takes 5 generations to create so another 10 years (onion hybrid seed production requires 3 lines: Male, maintainer & female - the female has cytoplasmic male sterility). All together it used to take 30 years to create a new female line.
Today onions are self-pollinated traditionally for 2 generations, then double-haploids are produced. It takes another 2-3 generations to create the female line with marker-assisted back-crossing. It takes 2-3 generations to create enough parent seed to produce commercial hybrids. So say 12-16 years now for a female line. 10 years for the male and maintainer.
Hahaha!
I was trying to keep it simple enough to answer OP about vegetables in general. But you are correct with regard to onions. I actually work for a vegetable breeding company, but I try to stay vague enough to protect my anonymity. It’s a pretty small word in the plant breeding community. (Even smaller in veg seeds specifically.)
You know your stuff, so I’ll have to assume you work for one of our competitors. And based on nothing other than assumptions made in bad faith, I will now consider you my lemmy nemesis.
Edit: wait… it’s somehow BOTH of our cake days? Are you actually me?
What the heck is happening here? I thought everyone on Lemmy was in tech but you two are both plant breeders and you both came to Lemmy on the same day? That’s bananas.
Thank you both so much for this information. It’s kind of confusing actually! I thought I was asking a question with a simple answer but that’s not the case at all.
That’s what I’m sayin! Goofy ass world we live in. Either that or me and “v” are the same person, and we have split personality disorder and can’t remember the password to each others lemmy accounts…
Shout out Oregon, btw.
You could be the same person in alternate dimensions, who can only talk on one sublemmy. Try ham radios, too, just in case.