"Free pollination" is the pollination of grape varieties with a functional female flower and (less often) a bisexual flower from the pollen of neighboring grape varieties. The so-called cross-pollination. While bisexual flower varieties can pollinate themselves ("self-pollination"), female flower varieties need a pollinator.

In grape breeding "free pollination" and "self-pollination" are used very rarely. And, first of all, because it will be very difficult to predict the result in the offspring. In modern viticulture, usually many varieties, and sometimes several different types of grapes, grow on one breeding site. Under such conditions, a lot of pollen flies in the air during flowering and pollination becomes lottery.

When is it possible to use "free pollination" in grape breeding? For example, on a plot somewhere in a remote area, only Amur grape varieties grow. Selection is carried out only on an intraspecific basis. Amur varieties are crossed with Amur varieties.

The same happens with American wild varieties. Selection based on the results of selection is carried out only on one or two characteristics.

For example, hybrid forms of grapes are selected according to such characteristics: frost resistance + large-fruitedness, or frost resistance + taste. Then, such selection is expedient and justified.

One of the options for "free pollination" can be considered "pollination with a mixture of pollen." For example, the selection of grapes is carried out in the direction of the nutmeg flavor of the berry. To speed up the selection, a mixture of pollen from muscat grape varieties is used as a parent component.

In this case, the mother grape variety (in most cases, with a functional female flower) is pollinated with a mixture of pollen from Muscat varieties. Selection is also made according to one or two main characteristics: nutmeg + large-fruitedness, nutmeg + disease resistance, etc.

In this case, grape breeding can also be considered expedient and necessary, despite the fact that only one of the parents will be known for sure. Of course, having made a genetic analysis, it is possible to determine the second parent from a hybrid pair. But, this is very expensive, and is justified only for transferring a new hybrid form of grapes to varieties for further distribution.

In my case, free pollination is just free pollination and the result has almost no scientific value. But, "hope dies last"! Suddenly something sensible will be born?!