How many seeds saved from an F1 are likely to produce something like the F1, something like the parents, or something like trash?
There is no easy answer. It depends on the species, and it depends on how many you are growing out. The more you grow, the more likely you are to see variation. It is a population genetics game. See Mendel Lives! for some background. The real issue is how many genes you are trying to follow, and whether or not those genes have dominant alleles. If all you want to recover is a red-fruited tomato, then almost all of the seeds you save will give you what you want. But if you want a red-fruited, globe-shaped, determinate, early-fruiting, disease-resistant, etc. etc. and the original parents differed in those characters, then you might not be able to find many plants that appeared to match the F1. Some would be close; yes, but identical?; probably none, unless you grew out a huge population, and then how could you identify that one that was identical to the F1?
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