Throughout this period, Weaver has heard any number of negative comments about hybrid cotton. Many cotton breeders remain skeptical that seed can be economically produced. Yet Weaver has not become discouraged. He dreams that hybrid cotton will one day be widely planted by U.S. cotton farmers. Weaver is a man who is clearly fascinated by the beauty and the genetic potential of the cotton flower.
Flowers contain the reproductive parts of the cotton plant.
His interest in cotton flowers and in hybrid cotton is lifelong, going back to the days when he was a graduate student. Cotton breeders create hybrids routinely as they look for desirable traits from two parent lines. But the varieties that result are not true hybrids. What Weaver wants is for farmers to realize the benefits of heterosis, or hybrid vigor, that would be available only by planting true hybrids. He's not in it for the money.