Month: March 2023

Regular seed represents a breeding line that expresses an equal balance of male and female chromosomes. It’s an excellent option for breeders, as it allows them to select from larger selections of both male and female plants.

However, working with regular seeds is not without its drawbacks. They can create wasted hydro system space, waste nutrients and grow medium, and require a dedicated space for growth and maintenance.

Stable Genetics

If you’re a breeder that works to supply the cannabis industry with new strains, stable genetics are an absolute must. Stable genetics allow the plant to keep returning over and over again, expressing all of the traits you want it to, while eliminating unwanted ones.

In order to achieve this, breeders must carefully select a string and healthy mother plant and father plant, then cross them with each other and possibly back-cross them for several generations. This process is time-consuming and requires a lot of patience, but it’s a necessary evil to get the desired properties in every generation.

Stable seed is a valuable commodity that can help cultivators maximize their yield potential while decreasing energy costs and environmental impact. Companies that specialize in developing stabilized seeds may be able to secure a steady source of revenue from licensing their novel seed traits to large cultivators.

More Vigorous Plants

If you’re looking for more vigorous plants, regular seed can be a great option. These strains tend to be very resilient and will withstand a wide range of growing conditions, including sudden photoperiod changes, lack of water, and excessive fertilisation.

These seeds will also offer a more reliable and consistent flowering cycle, resulting in larger yields for a variety of growers. They can also be used as a starting point for cultivating new hybrids and creating better clones.

Many cannabis enthusiasts prefer working with regular seed because they allow them to work with a wider genetic pool. This means they can access a variety of different phenotypes, each with their own characteristics, growth pattern, leaf and stem development, aroma, yield, terpene profile, etc.

However, it is important to note that working with regular seed does come with some impracticalities. It can be difficult to tell the difference between male and female plants, for example, and it can take some time before flowering is induced. Consequently, it’s important to select the best male and female plants for your breeding projects.

Better Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the process of creating new plants without the fusion of sperm and egg. It includes many forms of propagation including grafting and budding.

Some species of plants rely on apomixis, a type of asexual reproduction that involves the reproductive cells retaining the full complement of chromosomes rather than losing half their genes via meiosis. This method produces viable seeds that are essentially clones of the main plant and can have great potential for crop improvement.

But to make this kind of asexual seed, plant scientists must first understand how it works. That’s where researchers led by Jean-Francois Vielle-Calzada at the University of Paris Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC) have found that the gene Argonaute 9 plays a critical role in asexual reproduction.

Using a genetic screen, the team identified the gene and pinpointed its role in triggering apomixis in Arabidopsis thaliana. This has enabled the researchers to move forward in their quest to create a fully asexual seed.

Better Mother Plants

For cloning purposes, it makes sense to start with regular seed rather than feminized seeds. While feminized seeds can be very useful for amateur growers, they lack the natural resistance to pests and diseases that regular seed provides.

The genetic stability of mother plants can also be invaluable for capturing strains that offer unique phenotypes. For example, Jack The Ripper is one of the most famous strains in the world, and it has always been available as a regular seed.

As a grower, you’ll want to select the mother plant that provides the most healthy branches for you to cut and replant into clones. This will ensure that you get the best clones possible with top-shelf harvests each year.

Cannabis seed is a great source of plant-based protein and contains many nutrients. It is high in Vitamin E and a variety of minerals.

Seeds also contain soluble and insoluble fibers that boost digestion and help prevent constipation. They also contain essential fatty acids that promote healthy skin.

Size

The size of a cannabis seed is not critical to the plant’s success. The plant can grow in any shape or size it needs, but its final harvest will be determined by genetics and other factors.

Generally speaking, seeds of the same strain should be similar in size. However, some strains can produce seeds of differing sizes.

Some seeds can be quite small and pale, whilst others have a more dark appearance. These differences are not a factor in how the seeds grow or germinate, but they can help you choose a seed that will suit your particular situation.

To encourage germination, place the seeds in moist (but not soaked) soil. This will help the seeds pop quickly and easily, while also avoiding a fungal infection. Once sprouted, it is necessary to carefully move them into a starter kit with soil or soilless growing medium. Keep an eye on the temperature and moisture level of the soil and water as required.

Shape

Cannabis seeds can differ in size and shape, from one seed to the next. Depending on the type of strain they’re coming from, some seeds will have a round shape with a pointed end while others will be more rectangular.

It’s important to keep in mind that the shape of a cannabis seed is not necessarily an indicator of its quality. A good quality seed will have a tear-drop shape with a round end on one side and a tapered end on the other.

However, seeds can also vary in color, ranging from a light brown to a dark shade. Some may have multiple shades and tiger stripe patterns, while others will have a more uniform appearance.

Genetics

Seeds of plants can carry variant forms of genes that code for different traits. This genetic variation is referred to as alleles and can be passed on from one generation of seed to the next.

Plant breeders use genetics to develop stable cannabis cultivars that produce seeds with uniform phenotypes (the way a plant looks) and grows. This is done through breeding techniques such as crossbreeding, where the male and female genes of two plants are crossed.

Stabilising genetics can be a challenging task for cannabis breeders because of the large number of genes present in cannabis. However, there are a number of tools and technologies that can help cultivators and breeders stabilize their seed lineage and increase their yields and quality.

A genomic library is one tool that can be used to identify a strain’s genetic diversity. Using the data from a genomic library can help cannabis breeders identify traits that may be useful for their growing operations. This could also help breeders create high-demand stable seeds that can be patented and sold for a profit.

Germination

Germination occurs when a seed combines the heat of spring with the moisture needed to break through its shell. The combination causes the little white root to begin sprouting and burrowing through the shell.

The resulting sprout, or taproot, becomes the main stem of the plant. Once the germinated seed has emerged, it should be placed in a growing medium such as soil.

Generally, seeds will sprout within 3-10 days, but this can vary from one seed to the next. If the seed does not sprout, it is likely a dud and you should discard it.

Germinating cannabis seeds is not as difficult as it may seem. To get started, you’ll need two plates or a Tupperware with a lid, a few paper tissues and some water.

Regular seeds are a favorite for old-school growers, as they offer an untampered growing experience. These seedlings have pure genetics, formed through breeding both male & female parents.

Despite their popularity, they require more work and attention from the grower. However, they do offer several advantages over feminized seeds.

Breeding

Breeding is the process of producing offspring (usually animals or plants). Unlike cloning, breeding is a sexual reproduction that occurs between a male and a female.

There are several types of breeding, including cross-breeding, pure breeding, and inbreeding. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Regular seed production is based on the selection of plants with desirable traits, then inserting these genes into new lines of seeds. It takes some of the guesswork out of breeding, and is a major step in improving breeding programs.

Feminized seeds, on the other hand, are bred specifically to produce only female plants. This method is a popular choice for commercial growers, as it increases yields and quality crops.

However, feminized seeds also have a few issues that make them less ideal for breeding purposes. The first is genetic instability. These seeds must undergo a lot of genetic modification, making them less likely to produce robust descendants.

Cloning

Cloning is the process of creating new plants from a parent plant. It is used for a variety of reasons, including the propagation of high-producing plants and trees or to build populations of endangered species.

The most common method of cloning is through cuttings, called “budding.” This is commonly used to cultivate fruit trees. The bud is cut off the mother tree and inserted into a notch in the stem. It’s then placed into a pot and allowed to grow until it can be removed from the parent.

During the growing stage, the clone will need water to help it grow strong and healthy. It will also need a good rooting medium to grow a solid, robust root system.

Buying clones from a nursery, rather than conducting a scaled pheno-hunt, can save growers time and money. This is because the clone will have already undergone a rigorous selection process. This will allow the grower to incorporate a new phenotype into production much faster.

Genetic Stability

Genetic stability is a crucial factor to consider when producing regular seed. Various factors can affect this, such as genetic contamination, self-fertilization, and the synchronization of gamete formation.

Cloning is a process that allows for the multiplication of nucleic acid sequences by using extra-chromosomal plasmids (DNA). This technique can be applied to produce plant varieties with desired traits.

Generally, cloning produces populations that are homozygous, meaning they carry identical genotypes. This can help ensure that the offspring of the cloned line are genetically stable.

However, cloning can also produce segregating populations that are not genetically stable, due to mutations, isolation, and other environmental factors. The emergence of these types of populations is often seen in nature, but can also be produced in breeders’ labs via genetic manipulation.

For example, recombinant CHO cell lines are genetically unstable and are often maintained under selection pressure by transfection or the exposure to gene amplifying drugs. These selective agents can promote apoptosis and reduce genetic diversity of the cell population, making it more difficult to manufacture biologics that require specific protein coding transgenes within their chromosomal DNA.

Cost

Regular seed production is an important aspect of a grower’s breeding process. It’s a great way to test out the genetics of new strains.

It also allows a grower to develop a large selection of both male and female plants. This gives a grower a better understanding of the differences between plants of different sexes, allowing for more successful pheno hunting in future breeding efforts.

However, despite the many advantages of regular seed production, it’s not always the most cost-effective option. The amount of space, nutrients, and light used during sexing can be a significant factor.

Another important consideration is the cost of developing and testing high-quality genetics. This often involves extensive research and development that requires a high level of capital. These costs can significantly influence seed prices, especially for new strains that haven’t been widely tested.