Crops produced from F1 hybrid seed offer growers significant benefits in terms of yield improvement, agronomic performance and consistency of end-use quality. This is due to the 'hybrid vigour' derived in a single season by combining two carefully selected parent lines. But attempting to farm-save hybrid varieties will result in segregating populations producing highly variable offspring, which can lead to reduced yield, disease resistance and quality.

Farm-Saved Seed

If a hybrid crop is grown on again as farm-saved seed it will not produce plants or perform similar to the hybrid parent due to genetic regression and segregation. The resultant crop of a second generation hybrid will lose heterosis and its performance can be expected to be less than either of the component parents. As such the crop will not resemble the original variety either botanically or in performance and character.

In effect a hybrid will not reproduce true to type in a F2 generation. So for technical and commercial reasons hybrids are not re-established as farm-saved seed.

Plant Breeders Rights

Indeed under current Plant Breeders Rights legislation (EU Council Regulation 2100/94 on Community Plant Variety Rights and the UK Plant Varieties and Seeds Act 1997), the use of farm-saved seed from a hybrid is not permitted without the breeder’s consent. While this is a matter for each individual breeder, it is known that the resulting crops will segregate to produce variable offspring, reduced yields and loss of agronomic characters. For example, an oilseed rape hybrid with canker resistance inherited from one of the parent lines could lose that resistance when grown on as farm-saved seed.

New Quality Standards

Farm-saved seed from hybrid oilseed rape may also give rise to uneven quality and maturity resulting in variable glucosinolate content and problems with red or immature seeds at harvest. From harvest 2013, European oilseed crushers will only accept rapeseed from varieties registered with a glucosinolate content of 18 μmole or lower. Crops must be established from certified seed of hybrid varieties, or from certified or once-grown farm-saved seed of openpollinated varieties. Rapeseed produced from farm-saved seed of a hybrid variety will not be accepted by crushers.

See more at the BSPB website