Before feminised seeds became popular in the 1990s regular seeds were the only way to grow cannabis. They are still a crucial element of the growing process today.
However, they don’t always produce a perfect ratio of male to female plants. This can be caused by stressing the plant with techniques such as topping, fimming or lollypopping.
Breeding
The best way to start working with regular seeds is by selecting two strains with similar attributes and crossing them. This will allow you to create your own new breeds. A few rounds of breeding will help you to stabilise the genetics of your new strain.
Unlike feminized seeds, which are engineered to produce only female plants, regular seeds contain both male (XY) and female chromosomes (XX). This means that from the same parent plant, both hermaphrodite and sexless flowers may be produced, or, in some cases, mixed phenotypes.
When working with regular seeds, it is important to remove male plants from the growing area to prevent pollination. You should also work with a high volume of seeds, as this will give you a larger population to select from. Humidity is another enemy of cannabis seeds, so make sure to store them in a dry place. Silica gel packets can be used to absorb excess moisture and keep your seeds safe from damage.
Cloning
Clones are a useful tool for growers because they can be a reliable way to reproduce strains with a specific phenotype. By taking cuttings from a healthy mother plant, growers can ensure that their future plants are female and that they have the same genetic traits as their parent.
For best results, take cuttings from a healthy mother plant that is about two months into the vegetative cycle. It’s important to choose a plant that hasn’t been fertilized recently, as excess nitrogen will trick the clones into directing energy toward growing vegetation and not roots.
Clones are fragile, and they need a sterile environment to thrive. It’s essential to check them daily to ensure they are getting enough water and that their rooting zone is warm. They should also be fed regularly with a balanced nutrient solution. Insufficient care can lead to disease, mold, mildew, and other pests that can spread to other clones or the rest of your garden.
Pollination
Most flowering plants produce seeds when pollen is transferred between flowers of the same species. This can be achieved by wind, water, or animals such as birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, or beetles, and is called pollination. This results in fertilization and successful seed development.
Traditionally, growers have used regular seeds to crossbreed cannabis strains. Using male and female plants, they create a variety of hybrids with specific ratios of sex to ensure that the final crop has the desired characteristics.
When growing regular seeds it’s important to eliminate the male plants early on so that the plant can focus all its energy on achieving large buds and the ideal yields. Failing to do so means the plant will produce a lot of hermaphrodites throughout the entire growing process and that could reduce overall quality. To prevent this, many growers use pollination bags. These are paper bags with a plastic window that are sealed shut (except for the pinched hole at the top), and the grower shakes the male plant once per day for a week, allowing pollen to accumulate on the bag.
Genetics
Regular seeds produce both male and female plants which is a necessity for growers who want to make their own breeding stocks. For those growers who are looking for a new strain to create with breeding this gives them the opportunity to experiment with crossbreeding their favourite cultivars in order to create a new strain with improved yield, high profile of cannabinoids, terpenes or colours.
Breeders often use regular seed to carry out their research into the genetics behind particular seed traits such as dormancy, longevity and germination. These traits are important in the production of crops that meet the demands of consumers and are being increasingly sought after by farmers as the world population grows and populations continue to face food security challenges. Advances in genomics and seed biology are accelerating understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that control these key seed traits in dicots (e.g. A. thaliana) and monocots (e.g. tobacco [Nicotiana tabacum L.], sugar beet [Beta vulgaris L.], quinoa [Chenopodium quinoa Willd.], and coffee [Coffea arabica L.].) model systems.
