Question

In order to obtain the F₁ generation Mendel pollinated a pure-breeding tall plant with a pure breeding dwarf plant. But for getting the F₂ generation, he simply self-pollinated the tall F₁ plants. Why?

Answer 1

Genotype of 50% of the offspring would resemble one parent and the rest the other parent. All the F₁ offsprings of the cross are heterozygous so allowing self-pollination is sufficient to raise F₂ offspring. Also, he intended to understand the inheritance of the selected trait over generations.