How to Make Hybrid Plants Naturally

Corn is one example of a hybrid plant.

Calling any hybrid plant "natural" is a bit of a misnomer, as the intentional creation of a hybrid implies a certain level of artifice. However, there are ways of creating hybrid plants in a more natural manner than genetic manipulation. It follows the same logic of creating hybrid animals: breeding compatible organisms to attain the best traits of each.

Things You'll Need

• Planting area
• Compatible plants or seeds
• Soil
• Water
• Pollen transfer tools

Instructions

Raising the Parent Plants.

1. Research which plants are compatible for interbreeding. Not all plants are compatible with each other for interbreeding. You will have to do some research to find out which plants will breed with each other. Generally, plants of the same genus are more likely to interbreed. And variations of the same species will always be compatible.

2. Plant the seeds and follow their individual growing instructions.

3. 

   Flowers contain a plant's sexual organs.

   Allow the plants to come to sexual maturity. This will likely be when the plants flower, but before they fruit. If they fruit it's too late and the seeds have already been created. Research your plants to see when they flower and what their flowers look like so that you can identify them.

Cross-Pollination

1. 

   The stamen is the male sexual organ of a plant.

   Transfer the pollen from the father plant's stamen to the mother plants pistil. A cue tip should work but removing the pollen and sprinkling it on the pistil should also be effective.. Make sure that a good amount of pollen is clinging to the sticky pistil.

2. 

   The pistil is the female sexual organ of a plant.

   Try to avoid using wind pollinated plants as it will be difficult to avoid contamination from other plants. Keeping your garden free of other wind pollinated plants will reduce the chances of contamination. The parent plants may even cross-pollinate themselves without your intervention.

3. 

   Apples contain the seeds of the apple plant.

   Allow the plants to fruit. Depending on your plant this may be an actual fruit that contains the seeds, as in apples, or the seeds may be exposed to the surface without a fruit, as in sunflowers.

4. 

   Seeds contain the genetic information of the plant to be.

   Collect the new seeds.

5. Plant the new seeds and allow them to grow. The resulting plant will be a hybrid of the two parent plants.

Tips & Warnings

• The more research you put into your parent plants, the better the results.

• You may or may not be able to detect any difference between the hybrid plant and one of the parent plants. Without trial and error or extensive research you may not have a dramatically different plant. Or if it is different it may have undesirable traits.

• Unless the two parent plants are very closely related, there is a good chance that the hybrid plant may be sterile and unable to produce seeds. This problem may also occur with the hybrid animals.

References

• "Living History Farm":The Science of Hybrid Crops
• "Scientific American": How to Grow a Better Tomato