For gardeners who enjoy breeding their own strains of marijuana, regular seed is essential. These seeds produce a natural proportion of male and female plants. They are also more stable than feminized seeds.
Growing these seeds is ideal for beginners who are learning about plant care. This way, they can avoid mistakes and save time and space by not having to remove 40% of the plants after sexing.
Breeding
Breeding is the process of transferring genetic characteristics from one plant to another. It can be done through cross-pollination, which occurs when pollen from male plants is carried to the pistils of female plants. It can also be done through selective breeding, which involves selecting seeds that exhibit the desired phenotype.
Compared to regular seeds, feminized seeds have a much higher chance of producing only female plants. This makes them a popular choice for growers who want to ensure that their crop is 100% female. However, feminized seeds are not guaranteed to produce only female plants and there is always a small chance that some male or hermaphrodite plants will emerge.
Many commercial growers choose to use feminized seeds to improve the yield and potency of their crops. These seeds are bred to have a high germination rate and to produce large buds. This can result in a higher return on investment for the grower.
Cloning
Cloning is a process that allows growers to produce plants with exact genetic characteristics. It is a great option for those who want to cultivate high-quality marijuana and need consistent results. In addition, clones usually produce a higher yield than regular seed.
Clones are also useful for growing rare or endangered species. Researchers have cloned several endangered animals, including the Banteg ox and African wildcats. However, the process has its critics. Some experts believe that cloning creates genetically identical offspring that lack the variation necessary for species survival.
The cloning process is a natural form of reproduction that occurs in many life forms, such as plants, bacteria, and fungi. This method of propagation can save time and money for farmers, as they don’t have to spend time breeding the seeds. In addition, clones tend to have a more uniform phenotype than seeds. The cloning process is also more reliable than other methods of propagation, such as cuttings or pollen.
Genetic purity
Genetic purity is a key component in varietal improvement and seed production. It is crucial for varietal dissemination and popularity, as well as for the survival of the variety. Maintaining genetic purity requires careful isolation to avoid natural crossing with other compatible species, mechanical mixing at the time of sowing, threshing, and processing, and contamination from seed-borne diseases in surrounding fields.
Despite rigorous methods of physical seed cleaning, it is difficult to remove all inadvertent cross-contamination completely from commercial planting seed. This contamination may be due to straw, other crop seeds, weeds, or soil particles. Seed producers must follow strict purity tolerances established by state laws or by seed certification agencies to ensure that purchasers receive pure seed.
Molecular characterization is a useful tool for the identification of parental genotypes in hybrid seed production. It is particularly useful in the case of high-quality varieties that incorporate major genes for herbicide or insect resistance. The application of RAPD markers to screen hybrids can be used in place of costly morphological tests and provide greater accuracy and speed.
Price
While feminized seeds may have their place in the market, there is still a big demand for regular marijuana seeds. These seeds are more natural and are ideal for breeding or cloning cannabis plants. They also allow a strain to preserve its genetic lineage and produce new phenotypes. They are also cheaper than their feminized counterparts.
However, growing regular weed can be more difficult than growing feminized seeds. They often produce a high percentage of male plants, which can reduce the overall yield of your crop. In addition, identifying male plants and removing them can be difficult for novice growers. They can also be costly in terms of space, nutrients and light. Luckily, Herbies has many packs of regular seeds that are both affordable and reliable. They also have a variety of filters to help you find your perfect seeds quickly and easily. Their customer support is great too – Herbies offers 24/7 phone support to answer any questions you might have.