Which Is It ?? - Hybrids, Heirlooms, Heritage & Open-Pollinated Plants
Though we speak of “seed saving” and historically farmers “saved seed,” it would be more accurate
to say they selected seed for their next harvest. They selected for traits they wanted to encourage
and, in so doing, created variants of known varieties (landraces), and sometimes variants that were
different enough to be classified as entirely new varieties.
Open-pollinated seed produce plants just like the parent plant, who resemble their grandparents and
great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents. Open-pollinated heritage crops have been
developed from wild edible plants through generations of selection by nature and farmers. These
seeds produce stable varieties like their parent-plants, so long as precautions are taken to avoid
undesired cross-pollination.
Hybrids are seeds from two varieties of parent-plants that are genetically different, but of the same
species. They do not produce plants like themselves, but new combinations. Their traits separate out
in the next generations. On rare occasions, the seed will be sterile, similar to when a horse mates
with a donkey. The next-generation mules are sterile.
Crossing different open-pollinated varieties from the same species will produce a hybrid.
A new cross from the same parents must be done each time to create that very same combination.
Plant breeders produce hybrids in the hope of combining the best traits of each parent. Save seeds
from hybrids if you are doing long-term breeding experiments, or are curious to see what will happen.
Landrace plants and seed (or animals, for that matter) are of a local variety which has developed
largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It
differs from a formal breed which has been selectively bred deliberately to conform to a particular
formal, purebred standard of traits. They are a sort of "casual variety" developed by the conditions of
a given area.
Landraces are usually more genetically and physically diverse than formal breeds. Many formal
breeds originated from attempts to make landraces more consistent, and sometimes a particular type
has both landrace and formal breed populations. Sometimes a formalized breed retains a "Landrace"
name, despite no longer being a true landrace. The term traditional variety is sometimes applied to
plant landraces and sometimes used interchangeably.
Landraces are grown from seeds which have not been systematically selected and marketed by seed
companies or developed by plant breeders. Landraces refer to all those cultigens that are highly
heterogeneous (diverse), but with enough characteristics in common to permit their recognition as a
group.
This includes all cultigens cultivated without any specific nomenclature and value. A landrace
identified with a unique feature and selected for uniformity over a period of time for maintenance of
the characteristic features of the population can evolve into a farmers' variety or even a modern
cultivar as in many crops. Conversely, a modern cultivar grown over time by farmers and not
maintained as per the principles of maintenance breeding can "evolve" into a landrace.
"Floriani Red" flint corn, recently offered by Fedco as the homesteader's all-purpose maize, is an
example of a flint corn landrace from the Italian Alps. As it is grown now across North America, it has
the potential to morph a bit more into other regional landraces.
Cultivars are plants or groups of plants selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained
by propagation. Most cultivars have arisen in cultivation but a few are special selections from the wild.
Popular ornamental garden plants like roses, camellias, daffodils, rhododendrons, and azaleas are
cultivars produced by careful breeding and selection for flower color and form. Similarly the world's
agricultural food crops are almost exclusively cultivars that have been selected for characteristics like
improved yield, flavor, and resistance to disease.
Heirloom plants should not be confused with landraces. Heirlooms are selectively-bred cultivars that
simply predate industrial agriculture, and continue to be selectively bred to retain their pre-industrial,
non-hybridized (open-pollinated) traits, though many of course derive from landraces.
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia), or heirloom vegetable (especially
in the UK) is a cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is
not used in modern large-scale agriculture. Many heirloom vegetables have kept their traits through
open pollination, while fruit varieties such as apples have been propagated over the centuries through
grafts and cuttings. The trend of growing heirloom plants in gardens has been growing in popularity in
North America and Europe over the last decade.
Before the industrialization of agriculture, a much wider variety of plant foods were grown for human
consumption. In modern agriculture in the industrialized world, most food crops are now grown in
large, monocultural plots. In order to maximize consistency, few varieties of each type of crop are
grown. These varieties are often selected for their productivity, their ability to withstand mechanical
picking and cross-country shipping, and their tolerance to drought, frost, or pesticides. Heirloom
gardening is a reaction against this trend. In the Global South, heirloom plants are still widely grown,
for example in the home gardens of South and Southeast Asia.
The definition and use of the word heirloom to describe plants is fiercely debated.
One school of thought places an age or date point on the cultivars. For instance, one school says the
cultivar must be over 100 years old, others 50 years, and others prefer the date of 1945 which marks
the end of World War II and roughly the beginning of widespread hybrid use by growers and seed
companies. Many gardeners consider 1951 to be the latest year a plant can have originated and still
be called an heirloom, since that year marked the widespread introduction of the first hybrid varieties.
It was in the 1970s that hybrid seeds began to proliferate in the commercial seed trade. Some
heirloom plants are much older, some being apparently pre-historic.
Another way of defining heirloom cultivars is to use the definition of the word "heirloom" in its truest
sense. Under this interpretation, a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and
handed down from one family member to another for many generations.
Additionally, there is another category of cultivars that could be classified as "commercial heirlooms,"
cultivars that were introduced many generations ago and were of such merit that they have been
saved, maintained and handed down - even if the seed company has gone out of business or
otherwise dropped the line. Additionally, many old commercial releases have actually been family
heirlooms that a seed company obtained and introduced.
Regardless of a person's specific interpretation, most authorities agree that heirlooms, by definition,
must be open-pollinated. They may also be open pollinated varieties that were bred and stabilized
using classic breeding practices. While there are no genetically modified tomatoes available for
commercial or home use, it is generally agreed that no genetically modified organisms can be
considered heirloom cultivars. Another important point of discussion is that without the ongoing
growing and storage of heirloom plants, the seed companies and the government will control all seed
distribution. Most, if not all, hybrid plants, if regrown, will not be the same as the original hybrid plant,
thus ensuring the dependency on seed distributors for future crops.
Typically, heirlooms have adapted over time to whatever climate and soil they have grown in. Due to
their genetics, they are often resistant to local pests, diseases, and extremes of weather.
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A Few Words on Food and Politics and Evil
Possibly the greatest potential for sinister activity or class control is in the patenting of GMO plants.
Hybridizing can lead to patenting, but hybridization can be rather easily reproduced and hardly proved
even if in violation of a current patent. Because of the immense investment and technology applied to
genetic engineering, GMO food plants politically and technically vie for legal patent rights. Cases
have become increasingly commonplace where GMO crossbreeding or even wind-drift seed gets into
a farmer's seed or growing field crop and the patent holding business sues the farmer for illegal
"possession" of the company's seed.
It is often stated, "he who controls the money, controls the world". What more fundamental asset
could one (or a corporation) control besides food? Perhaps it is more accurate to state, "he who
controls the world's food, controls the world".
Compiled from various public sources.
Brian B. Burger, March 2012