K wrote:
Pete C writes


K wrote:
Having returned to veg growing after nearly 20 yers of not growing
veg, I thought I'd better refresh my mind on the theory, and I've
come up with things which have puzzled me.

From various books I have picked up that you should not grow indoor
(all female) and outdoor cucumbers in the same greenhouse, and sweet
and chilli peppers should not be grown together, in both cases
because 'cross pollination' will cause undesirable results.

The cucumbers I think I understand - the all female plants not only
do not require fertilisation, the should *not* be fertilised - I
think because the presence of seeds would spoil the eating quality
(and indeed self fertilisation would have the same effect)

It's the peppers that puzzle me. I can see that, since they're
closely related, they are likely to cross pollinate and next year,
if you save seed, you will get all sorts of strange hybrids. But
why should it affect this year's fruit (which was the clear
implication of the book I read)? I can't see any mechanism by which
this year's fruit could be affected, and I'm inclined to disregard
the advice (well, in fact I already have)
Bees and butterflys will cross pollinate??

Sorry, I don't follow. Yes, the plants will be cross pollinated - but
how does this affect the fruit? The fruit is formed vegetatively from
the parent plant, as I understand it, it's the seed itself which
contains genetic material from both parents, so that any plant growing
from the seed will be the result of cross pollination.

So what I'm asking is whether there is a mechanism by which the
genetic material from pollen can affect the development of the fruit
(as opposed to any seeds that fruit contains), and, if so, what that
mechanism is?
Ahh, I see what you mean. Sorry, dunno.
--
Pete C
London UK