Regular seed can produce both male and female cannabis plants, so growers must be careful to remove all the males during the growing process. This can be time consuming, especially for large crops.
Feminized seeds are much easier to manage, as they will produce only female plants. This makes them a popular choice for beginners.
Breeding
Before the feminization of cannabis seeds, growers used regular seed to create new strains. They would grow two separate plants and cross them to produce fertile offspring that shared specific characteristics. These traits would be inherited by future offspring and would eventually become stabilized into an IBL or “stable” strain.
Using regular seed allows breeders to preserve the natural genetics of a cultivar, which can be important for many people. The phenotype of a cultivar can vary widely depending on environmental conditions, so it’s best to explore the full range of potential results with regular seed.
For example, Serious Seeds’ AK-47 is an easy-to-grow regular that produces large main colas and dense side colas. Its flavor profile is reminiscent of ripe blueberries with a classic indica earthiness, and the effects are relaxing and uplifting. It has an enormous family tree, but is still a very affordable strain to purchase. This makes it an excellent choice for beginners who are just starting out.
Cloning
In reproductive cloning, scientists produce a duplicate of an existing animal. To do so, they start with a mature somatic cell (such as a skin cell) from the animal they wish to copy. They then add this cell to an empty egg cell that has had its DNA-containing nucleus removed. This process creates an embryo that contains the same genes as the original animal.
The B. humilis population is very small and clonal growth predominates. In addition, competition from non-clonal plants is high in these canopy gap habitats. This may limit the spread of pollen and seed, or may redirect energy into vegetative growth.
The clonal growth strategy of phalanx species has been shown to have low levels of clone mixing. Derivative ramets of one genet are very close to the parent plant, so they have only limited contact with the other ramets of the same genet. This makes self-fertilisation less likely. This contrasts with the automictic parthenogenesis that is the norm for most multicellular organisms.
Genetics
Genes are a type of information that gets passed from parent to child during reproduction. They determine the color of a person’s hair, the likelihood that he or she will get cancer, and even whether they are male or female. Scientists study genes to understand how they affect organisms, including plants, and how they can be modified.
In our study of MAGIC lines, we found that seed size and number were independently mapped with little overlap between QTL (Table 4, Figure S2). Moreover, the phenotypic effects at these QTL were distinct from each other, suggesting that genetic pleiotropy is not responsible for the trade-off between seed size and number that has been predicted by life-history theory.
A similar analysis using the Torreya population has identified QTL for seed weight and number per fruit. These QTL are located on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, and 5, with the largest on chromosome 1 explaining 15% of variation. One of these QTL also overlaps with a QTL for fruit length, which is likely due to the mutation ERECTA in the accession Ler.
Price
Despite the rise of feminized cannabis, regular seeds are still prized by growers. They are more resilient and genetically stable than feminized strains and will typically produce a mix of male and female plants. This allows for the development of new strains and enables growers to breed-specific characteristics in their crop, including smell, flavour, THC content, and CBD levels.
However, it is important to note that growing regular plants can be more difficult for beginner growers. They require frequent changes in light and sexing, which can be challenging for newer cultivators.
In order to achieve the best results, growers should provide their regular seeds with optimal conditions. This includes a healthy soil, appropriate humidity and temperature, and a consistent watering schedule. With proper care, your regular seed will flourish into a robust, healthy plant. This is why Homegrown offers a germination guarantee with all of our seeds. If you are not satisfied with the results, we will refund your purchase.
