If you are talking peppers as in Capsicum varieties, then I suggest emasculation the evening before the flowers open and then bag them till YOU make the cross. You will lose many flowers, but what you get will be a real cross.

George

Thanks George - Yes I am refering to Capsicums. Do I need to bag it after the cross has been made?
Cross pollination in Peppers usually occurs due to insects - will this still be problem if you remove the corolla during emasculation?

I like to do a lot of growing out of hybrid populations. So I like to minimize the time I spend crossing.
So I try to use male-steriles as often as possible.
Male-sterile forms of about 6 pepper varieties are available from the GRIN website. Free if you will go through the work to fill out the forms, etc.
Same with tomato, but the Tomato Genetics Cooperative website is easier to navigate.
But neither is really that bad, with practice.
No I don't have enough to share at this moment.
Walter

Peppers can be modified without crossing. Traits such as shape and color of fruit, "heat" and branching habit can be altered by grafting -- and the modified traits are passed along to seedlings.

Euphytica 108(2): 73-78. January 1999

Graft-induced variants as a source of novel characteristics in the breeding of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)
Janos Taller, Noboru Yagishita and Yutaka Hirata
Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

Abstract  A line with genetic changes that was obtained from selfed seeds of the scion of an intraspecific pepper graft was used as a source of new characteristics in this breeding experiment. Five new variant lines and several sublines were bred by the use of this graft-induced variant strain and two other cultivars. Gradual introduction of the desired quantitative traits and selection resulted in combinations which significantly outperform the parental lines. Our breeding aim was to combine the two-lobed fruit shape that is characteristic for the graft-induced variants with thick pericarp, high sugar content, large fruit size, and significantly reduced or eliminated pungency in the new variants. A bushy plant type, typical for the graft-induced variants could be maintained in some selected sublines. The use of the three different genotypes resulted in many favorable combinations of quantitative traits, and lines were selected with the most valuable new characteristics. However, not all of these expressed the two-lobed fruit apex of the graft-induced variants. Our results reveal that the new characteristics which are induced by grafting are stable, new traits, and can be used as a novel genetic source in the breeding of pepper.

Karl

Here is a link that might be useful: Anomalous Heredity

If you want to make a cross, find a flower that is about to open, carefully remove the petals and using a small screw driver or a needle, remove the male anthers (purple things) without damaging the center pistle (stamen). You can take and open flower (that has pollen) from the other pepper plant that you are crossing with, carefully remove the petals one by one by pulling them downward, and then carefully rubbing the pollen sacks over the tip of the stamen from the flower that you did surgery on before.

If the pistle (stamen) falls off, it's too late, remove the flower and try on another.

The female part of Pepper flowers is receptive BEFORE the flower even opens, while the male parts (anthers) do not produce pollen untill after the flower has opened. So you can be assured that if the flower sets fruit, growing the resulting seeds will indeed be a cross between the two different plants.

Be sure to mark the stem of the flower with a sharpie so you dont forget where it is. The stem of the flower will be the stem of the pepper, so this is the best place to mark it. Also, it will enlarge quite a bit so be sure to mark it good or wrap some string around it so that you can tell it apart from other fruit.

Make sure the fruit ripens fully before removing it. Remember that Jalapenos and Green Peppers are immature pods, they turn red when fully ripe, and seeds will not germinate from unripe pods. Next remove the seeds and let them dry 100% before attempting to germinate them.

NEVER Freeze or Dry the pods before removing the seeds, otherwise they will NOT germinate!