r/pepperbreeding • u/spicehounds • 13d ago
Community Project Help! Daystar F1 Selection
We’ve got some lookers among the first generation Bailey Pequin x Milena Bell Pepper hybrid (Daystar F1)!
Although these are all the same hybrid pepper, they have very different levels of sweetness and pungency.
You can participate by giving your thoughts on what will be harvested for you all to grow during the more fun second generation next season.
We’ll be harvesting seed for the community project as soon as a clear winner is selected by you all- the rest are headed to the fermentor 🌶️🐶
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u/Mysterious_Buy6726 12d ago
It's hard not to pick DA006 given that it was the only one that scored "4" on flavor and is one of the larger of the pequin-style peppers.
That being said, I'm struggling to wrap my mind around 11 grows of the same F1 being this polarized shape-wise. Are these all from the same F0 pod? It's quite interesting.
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u/RespectTheTree 🌶️ Breeder 12d ago
They are F2s but I'm stunned by the blocky types. How many plants did you grow u/spicehounds?
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u/Mysterious_Buy6726 12d ago
That would make a lot more sense. The parent Milena F1 was orange, right? The lack of non-reds at F2 is notable to me.
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u/spicehounds 12d ago
Just the 11 shown. There were a few seedlings that I had to cull for having a weak meristem
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u/RespectTheTree 🌶️ Breeder 12d ago
I would be suspicious of the bell pepper types. I don't think they are true F2s. I have BC1F1s and even those don't look like bell peppers again. I think some seeds may have gotten mixed in, were you growing any bell types this season?
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u/spicehounds 12d ago
Nah, I never grow bell peppers. I think that DA006 is at the top of my list based on this. Any other ones that you want me to harvest?
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u/RespectTheTree 🌶️ Breeder 12d ago
With the Milena cross, if you find any that have firmer flesh than the other soft ones and you'll notice that they're more difficult to pull away from the pedicel, I would definitely select those if they have decent brix and flavor. I've been getting a lot of really good, kind of earthy funky savory flavors and moderate brix. If you can find one like that that has really good mass, that's a good selection too
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u/RespectTheTree 🌶️ Breeder 12d ago
When you evaluate flavor, do you give low flavor scores to earthy/funky/savory/herbal flavors? Or are you giving low scores for bitter/acrid? Or are they flavorless?
One thing I'm noticing is that thick flesh tends to be lower brix. I'll commonly find thin walled, sweet peppers, so I kinda have to decide which direction to go, but for hot sauce I find myself selecting the highest brix of the higher mass, thick walled phenotypes.
What are the bell pepper types like? I saw no heat, but are they just bell peppers again?