Regular seeds are the natural offspring of a female cannabis plant that has been pollinated by a male. They can grow into either male or female plants, depending on environmental factors.
While most seed companies produce feminized and autoflowering varieties, some also offer regular seeds. These are relatively new to the industry, but they’re still a great way for people to experiment and practice growing cannabis.
Breeding
Breeding is the process of creating new plant varieties using breeding lines. The goal is to develop a new variety that performs well within established parameters for each trait desired in a crop.
In plant breeding, breeders generate thousands of lines, each representing a cross between two parents. Each line is evaluated and subjected to a series of evaluations, yield testing, and other trials before being chosen for commercial release.
To produce a new variety, the breeder must convince an expert committee that the candidate variety is competitive and worthy of commercial release (CFIA, 2003). If the candidate variety exhibits any unsuitable traits, such as significant differences in nutrient content, sensitivity to environmental stresses, disease, or other undesirable characteristics, it is eliminated from consideration for commercial release.
While feminized seeds are much more popular with modern growers, there are still many people who like to use regular seed. This is especially true if you have old school genetics that you want to preserve in their original form.
Cloning
Cloning is the process of creating genetically identical copies of a cell or organism. This happens in prokaryotic (organisms without a cell nucleus) and eukaryotic (organisms with a cell nucleus) organisms.
In prokaryotic cells, clones are created by binary fission, and in eukaryotic organisms, clones are produced by budding or parthenogenesis. These processes are used in plants, insects, and other animals to create offspring that share the same DNA as their parent.
Animals can reproduce asexually, or without undergoing a sexual process, as well. This is often done by aphids, worms, certain lizards, snakes, birds and fish.
In animal cloning, researchers remove a mature somatic cell from an animal they wish to clone and transfer it into an egg cell that has had its DNA-containing nucleus removed. The egg is then fertilized with sperm from a recipient animal, resulting in an embryo that develops into a new, living creature.
Preserving Old Genetics
In the seed business, preserving old genetics is an integral part of the process. A landrace strain might not yield the tastiest plants in the world, but if it’s properly bred and cared for, it can be a valuable resource.
In terms of seed conservation, the ex situ storage of dry seeds at cold temperatures is currently the most commonly used strategy. To enhance usability and increase the longevity of dried seed accessions, genebanks can employ efficient database systems to track information about collecting sites, phenotypic characteristics and molecular data.
Preserving seed for the future entails many activities including acquisition, drying, seed storage and monitoring, viability testing, characterization and distribution. The main challenge is the cost of maintaining seed stocks and the associated costs to retrieve samples from storage. As such, it is important to find the best balance between costs and benefits. Using the right techniques, and in the right places, seed banks can become an invaluable resource for both farmers and scientists alike.
Buying Seeds
When you buy seeds, you are committing to an investment. And it’s easy to get carried away, buying seeds that you don’t really need and that won’t do well in your garden.
The best way to avoid these pitfalls is to make sure you’re only buying seeds that you will actually use in your garden. Start by considering your garden’s sun and shade exposure, as well as what you plan to grow.
This will help you find the right seed for your area and save you from wasting money on seeds that won’t work in your growing situation. Also, remember that many vegetables are so fast-growing that you can plant them multiple times in the same year.
Seed banks are a great way to get the seeds you need. These seed banks collect seeds from farmers across the world and ensure that they meet strict quality standards. They can then sell them to customers at a low cost.
