Introduction.The question of whether seeds exist that produce a crop for only one season and cannot be used for subsequent sowing concerns not only farmers but also anyone interested in food security and the influence of large agricultural corporations. For the past two decades, alarming reports about "terminator seeds" — genetically modified plants created by large corporations to force farmers to purchase new seeds annually, preventing them from saving seeds from their own harvest — have circulated in public discourse. However, the actual picture is far more complex and requires distinguishing between two different phenomena: on one hand, F1 hybrid seeds, which have long been present on the market, and on the other, the experimental GURT technology, which was never commercialized. For Ukraine, where the agricultural sector remains one of the key pillars of the economy, and farmers — from large agroholdings to small-scale operations — annually spend billions of hryvnias on seeds, understanding these mechanisms has not only theoretical but direct practical significance. I. F1 Hybrid Seeds: Natural "Sterility" for Quality Preservation.The most common seeds not recommended for saving for subsequent sowing are first-generation hybrids, designated with the index F1. These seeds are produced through the deliberate crossing of two specially bred parent lines. The process of creating a hybrid is labor-intensive and expensive, often taking many years. The main characteristic of F1 hybrids is that their outstanding traits — high yield, disease and pest resistance, uniform fruit ripening, and size consistency — manifest only in the first generation. If seeds are collected from a hybrid plant and sown the following year, the resulting offspring (F2) will lose these valuable qualities. The plants will be heterogeneous, some will be unproductive, and overall yield will significantly decrease. It is important to emphasize that F1 hybrid seeds are not sterile in the literal sen ... Читать далее