If you’re an experienced grower who wants to preserve the strains that didn’t make it into feminized seeds, then regular seed is a great option for you. However, it’s more difficult to grow than feminized seed.
It can take up to 120 hours for the seeds to germinate. Once they do, place them in a dark place like a cupboard or drawer until they sprout a taproot.
Cost
For the grower that is interested in breeding their own cannabis strains regular seeds are still the most cost effective option. These seeds are less expensive than feminized seed because they are not specially engineered to produce only female plants. Feminized seeds, on the other hand, can be guaranteed to produce a high percentage of female plants.
Growing regular seeds can be a bit of a challenge. They require more attention to sexing than other types of marijuana seeds because they are capable of producing male plants, which can ruin an entire harvest. It’s also important to keep an eye on the germination rate and purity of regular seeds to ensure that they are not contaminated.
Tropic Thunder regular seeds will take about 10 weeks to flower, producing a crop of up to 35 oz. These buds are mellow with fruity tones that will make you feel like you’re sitting on a tropical beach. They’re best suited to veteran cultivators with some experience growing tall sativa strains.
Genetics
The genetics of regular seeds are determined by the natural, sexual reproduction process. This means that they contain a mix of male and female plants. This can be beneficial for certain growers because the male plants can pollinate the females and produce more seed for future growing seasons. This can also save money on purchasing new seeds each year.
The QTL that affect seed size and number have little overlap (except for one on chromosome 3), and the alleles associated with the traits have distinct effects (Table 5, Table S3). This suggests that the trade-off between these two traits is not as strong as previously thought.
However, identifying and removing male plants to avoid pollination can be time-consuming and tedious. This is especially true for growers who cultivate a variety of strains. Luckily, feminized seeds are available to make this process easier and more efficient. This allows you to focus on your crops and create a strain that matches your specific growing preferences.
Vigor
Seed vigor is an important parameter that influences the performance of seed lots during different phases of seed production. Its relationship with field plant stand establishment and crop productivity has been recognized worldwide since the 1960s. Consequently, this topic has been the subject of intense research activity and a diversity of methods for its evaluation.
The vigor of regular seeds is determined by several factors, including seed size, seedling growth rate, and other genetic traits. These factors may be affected by environmental conditions such as planting weather and soil quality. Vigor can also be improved by using a combination of breeding and growing strategies.
While standard seed germination tests are useful for evaluating the quality of seed, they cannot accurately measure seed vigor. However, the development of new methods for assessing seed vigor is promising. These methods could decrease the time needed for testing, and allow for more accurate measurements of vigor. They can also help growers make more informed decisions about their cropping plan.
Reproduction
A grower that wants to create his own cultivar or experiment with breeding can do this best with regular seeds. These operate exactly as nature intended, having an equal chance of growing into male or female plants. This allows the specialized grower to develop phenotypes with precise characteristics – in terms of flavor, aroma, production and effects.
This occurs through a process known as pollination, in which the male gametes (anthers) are moved to a part of the female plant called the stigma. This fertilizes the eggs (female spores) to produce seeds.
It takes a lot of work to successfully propagate and harvest seed from trees, especially when the goal is to grow a large number of clones. The process requires separating the male and female plants, culling the boys, and ensuring the hermaphrodites are not able to pollinate the budding females. The grower needs to manage this process along the entire growing cycle – which can be very time consuming.