So I have been grown these bean for a couple months and harvest has come around. And while taking them out of the pod I got these 3 that are considerably larger than my average bean. Am I right in assuming that if I replant these large ones that they'll give me beans around that size too or no?
by Distinct_Ad6176
11 Comments
That’s how selective breeding works, so yes, you are more likely to get larger beans.
Long before scientists started splitting genes in the lab, this is how our ancestors grew larger crops. There’s no guarantee you’ll get larger beans from those, but if you keep it up over many years, your average harvest will increase. Assuming of course they’re not some gmo nightmare seed
I’m a legume geneticist, so, *kind of, yeah*.
So, every seed has genes from two sources, one source is the parent plant, and the other source is the pollen, whatever plant that pollen came from.
But only the parent plant’s genes determine how the seed looks. You can’t tell what genes will pass on to the baby plant, through the pollen, just by looking at how the seed is shaped.
The good news with beans, is that most bean plants are self-pollinating, meaning that the pollen is usually also from the parent plant. So the genes in these beans are usually entirely from the parent plant.
But that also means that all the beans from the same plant are more or less identical, genetically. You shouldn’t have to plant these specific beans, you should be able to plant any beans from that same plant, and the resulting seedlings should all be equally-likely to produce big beans.
So then if, season after season, you choose the plants that, through slow random mutations over time, produce the biggest seeds, that’s how crop breeding works to develop new plant varieties. It’s not a complicated principle, so you can definitely do that yourself if you want.
**Gregor Mendel has entered the chat**
Welcome to the world of eugenics 😈
I’ll give you my cow for those magic beans!
To infinity and beanyond.
That’s how selective breeding works. Pick the largest and only plant those.
You should end up with a giant beanstalk, just make sure to plant them on a full moon!
but be mindful of flavor and other matters. The plants could produce bigger beans as a tradeoff to less flavonoids, or whatever other beneficial compounds
And it will grow a large stalk so high it will pierce the clouds in which you can climb.