When it comes to cannabis seeds, there are two main types available on the market – regular and feminized.
Both of these seed types have their pros and cons, so it’s important to know which one will suit your needs best. Regular seed are the original, unmodified variety of cannabis plants.
They are cheaper
Regular seeds are a good choice for growers who want to save money. They are often less expensive than feminized seeds, and they also provide a more natural selection for the plants that grow from them.
Feminized seeds are a better option for commercial growers, who typically need to produce a certain ratio of female to male plants. They are also ideal for growers who want to prevent the accidental production of male plants, which can lead to a waste of time and resources.
However, for more experienced growers, regular seed can be an exciting opportunity to explore new possibilities. Breeders can take their best strains and create new cultivars, or they can make clones from quality mother plants to experiment with different phenotypes.
They are more vigorous
The more vigorous a seedling is, the higher the potential yield of that plant. This is because the plant has more of its energy to spend on growing.
Several factors contribute to the vigorousness of a seedling, including its ability to germinate quickly. This is especially true for smaller-seeded varieties.
Vigor can also be influenced by the availability of seed nutrients, which help to keep the plants healthy and strong during their first few days in the ground.
Varieties with larger seeds tend to have better germination and a greater nutrient content than smaller-seeded varieties. This is particularly true for native grasses.
The number of male and female flowers a seed produces is another key factor in its vigor. While it is possible to grow more female plants from regular seed, this will require the grower to put about twice as many seeds into their cultivation space in order to ensure they remove the males as soon as they are identified.
They are more resistant to pests
Historically, plant breeders have been concerned with imparting durable resistance to pests and pathogens of crop plants. This is typically provided through complex assemblages of genes that impart heritable resistance and are often referred to as multigene resistance or horizontal resistance.
But a disadvantage to this kind of durable resistance is that breeders cannot easily move the gene assemblages from one plant or one variety to another, as happens with more specific single-gene resistance. This can lead to problems with linkage between undesirable traits that might be introduced by the transfer of these assemblages.
Fortunately, host plant resistance is increasingly being used in genetic engineering (GE) crops as a cornerstone of insect integrated pest management (IPM). Currently, GE cultivars confer herbicide tolerance (HT) and/or protection against lepidopteran and/or coleopteran pests to many major horticultural and vegetable crops including soybean, maize, canola, cotton, sugar beet and alfalfa.
They are easier to breed
Regular seed is a good choice for home growers who want to breed their own strains. It’s also a great way to practise your growing skills and improve your understanding of cannabis genetics.
Regular seeds have a 50% chance of emerging as either male or female, meaning that they offer superior clones that are more resistant to pests and diseases. In addition, they have a higher THC content than feminized seeds.
Feminized seeds, on the other hand, have been bred specifically to produce only female plants. This makes them an ideal choice for commercial growers, as they can achieve a specific ratio of female to male plants.
Using feminized seeds also saves growers a lot of time and money, as they don’t have to waste resources raising male plants. This is particularly beneficial for growers who are limited to a certain number of seeds in their indoor operations. Furthermore, feminized seeds can be more reliable than their regular counterparts and can help to ensure a predictable crop.
