How closely related are the yacon varieties Quinalt and Morado? I was thinking of planting them closely together to try and get some seed crosses. Even if one is a parent of the other, should there be a good chance of getting viable seed in eastern Texas where the growing season is long?
Thanks for any input.
I don’t know the parents of Quinault. I strongly suspect that one of them was New Zealand. It wouldn’t be surprising if the other were Morado, as it flowers at nearly the same time, but Bekya is also a likely possibility. I know that it is possible to get seed from Morado x Quinault crosses. I haven’t tried the opposite direction, but that will probably work too. Self incompatibility in yacon doesn’t appear to extend to close relatives, as we are getting a lot of seed out of closely related seedlings this year. So, I think your plan is fine - the only question is whether or not they will set seed in your climate and there’s only one way to determine that. Good luck!