Month: September 2023

Regular seeds preserve the genetic stability that is essential for breeding. They also offer the potential for phenotype variation that can enhance or change desirable traits.

Growing regular seed requires identifying and culling male plants to avoid pollinating the females. This can be challenging for growers without experience.

Generally, most regular cannabis seeds produce roughly 50/50 male and female plants.

Stable Genetics

Genetic stability is the first step to consistent cannabis, and it’s an essential part of the value chain. Stable seed strains are bred for multiple generations until desirable traits are fully expressed. This requires a lot of careful, controlled breeding. This may involve back-crossing to previous generations in order to reduce the amount of genetic variation within a line.

The process of stabilizing a strain can take several years and is often costly. For this reason, many of the most popular strains on the market today are stabilized seeds.

To create stable seeds, a breeder will start with an established mother plant that possesses certain desired characteristics. Then she will cross it with an unrelated male plant that also possesses these desirable characteristics. The resulting hybrid offspring, known as the filial-1 (f1) generation, will have a fair amount of genetic variation. This variation is caused by the different alleles that each parent passes onto offspring plants, i.e. the genes that code for specific growth and flowering patterns (phenotypes).

Breeding Potential

Regular seeds grow in to male and female cannabis plants and are preferred by those who wish to create their own cultivars or hybrids. By using a combination of techniques to reverse the sex of the plant and backcross it with itself (or another desired parent), the breeder can produce offspring which are identical to the original clone used.

This process also allows for phenotype variation, which can result in differences in appearance, aroma, taste and effects. This is an exciting and intriguing aspect of growing marijuana and one which many growers enjoy experimenting with.

Alternatively, growers can simply let their regular seeds germinate and hope that most of them grow into female plants. This eliminates the need to deal with male plants and will yield a predominately female crop of high-quality buds. Moreover, this method of cultivation is more in keeping with the way that natural seeds operate.

Phenotype Variation

Regular seeds are essential for gardeners that want to develop their own strains. They are important because they allow for phenotype variation, allowing growers to create unique cannabis strains with different flavors, aromas and effects. They also offer genetic stability, which is important for breeders who want to create stable crops.

The seed size and seed number traits exhibit significant natural variation in A. thaliana, as do other life-history traits (Kranitz et al. 1991; Alonso-Blanco et al. 1999; Van Daele et al. 2012). However, the QTL that explain variation for seed size and seed number do not overlap. This indicates that the trade-off between these two traits may not be as strong as has been previously suggested.

We also found that PSY correlated with PH, CSL, CNP, TSW, and IFS in uniculm accessions and with PH and FCH in branching accessions. Thus, these traits are likely the key factors that influence PSY. The correlations we observed in this study provide new insights into the genetic architecture of seed yield in sesame.

Easy to Grow

Unlike feminized seeds that have undergone the process of genetic manipulation to produce only female plants, regular seeds will produce both male and female cannabis plants. This can be a drawback, as growers will need to remove the male plants (which produce pollen sacks) from the growing process and hope that only the female plants will eventually produce smokable buds.

Regular seeds also have the potential to offer phenotype variation, meaning that each plant grown from the seed will express its own unique characteristics. This can result in varying yields, aromas, flavors and effects from the same cultivar.

Growers will need to take into account their location, growing experience and target flowering time when choosing a specific strain of regular seed. However, overall regular seed is a popular choice amongst growers as it allows for the possibility of a larger harvest and can provide a good crop of mother plants for taking cuttings/clones. Also, since the majority of a crop will be female plants it is easier to manage and less prone to stress throughout the growing process.

Cannabis seed is the embryo of a new plant that needs to go through the process of germination to become nutritionally self-sufficient. Germinating seeds is the most difficult and most important step for a beginner grower to master.

For beginners, try autoflowering seeds that don’t require changing the light cycle. ILGM sells feminized and regular seeds, with excellent customer support and a respectable germination guarantee.

Germination

The germination stage is where the seed breaks out of its protective shell and becomes a sprout (or radicle). Depending on temperature, moisture, and substrate composition this happens within 3-10 days.

Typically cannabis seeds are planted in a medium such as a pot or germination tray and then covered with soil. Then a grower waters the soil to ensure that it is damp, but not soaking wet.

This method allows the grower to monitor the seeds as they germinate and not worry about overwatering. However, the seeds must be checked often and re-moistened as they can dry out very quickly. When re-moistening a seed, a good practice is to use distilled water (or water that has been treated with root stimulator) as it will have the best pH for your seed.

Soil

The cannabis seed needs to be in a light, airy growing medium. A common mistake made by new growers is to use a rich, heavy soil. This can cause germination problems. The roots can’t find the oxygen they need and the seedlings will die.

Too much moisture can also be a problem. Too much water can rot the seed and damping off can kill a young seedling. If the environment is too warm or too cold, the germination will be delayed.

It is important to keep the environment for a seed/young seedling clean and free of fungus. Nutrients/fertiliser should be avoided as much as possible at this stage. This is because a young seedling is prone to fungal diseases. This can include ‘damping off’ and other fungal infections.

Light

Most cannabis seeds germinate easily in the dark, however some experience issues with excessive light. Too much light can damage the seed and prevent it from sprouting or developing properly.

Cannabis plants use sunlight to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis converts the energy in carbon dioxide and water into energy for the plant, and also creates essential amino acids and proteins.

The light cycle of a cannabis plant dictates the growth stage of the plant, with outdoor growers giving plants long hours of sunlight to encourage vegetative growth and flowering. Indoor growers provide their clones and seeds with a more controlled light schedule, including full-intensity lights during the first weeks after germination. This is because cannabis seedlings are not yet ready for the flowering phase of their lives.

Temperature

Weed seeds are relatively easy to germinate and will become little seedlings within a few days. To do this, simply fill a small plant pot with potting soil and water. Then, put your weed seeds in the soil and give it some light.

Temperature is one of the most important factors that influences seed germination. The optimum temperature for radicle and shoot growth is 20 degC, while the optimal temperature for root growth is 15 degC.

The temperature also influences the dry weight of a seedling. A seed’s ability to hydrate depends on its internal potential energy, which is dependent on the seed’s metabolic and enzyme activity and its enthalpy. Increasing the temperature will increase this energy and accelerate hydration. However, over a super-optimal temperature, the energy will be lost rapidly.

Water

When seeds are germinated, the outer shell of the seed breaks apart and a sprout emerges. The sprout, also known as the taproot, is both a root and a stem, so it pushes up through the soil or growing medium to get the light it needs to grow into a full cannabis plant.

Temperature: Cannabis seeds need warmth to break out of dormancy, and they thrive in temperatures between 70 – 78°F. Temperatures lower than 70°F delay germination, and higher temperatures can upset seed chemistry.

Water: If seeds are soaked in a glass of water, they may float at first, but will eventually sink. If the seeds float for more than 24 hours, they are not viable and should not be planted. Instead, seat the seeds in a Rockwool cube and mist with distilled water.

A seed is a tiny package of genetic information that creates a new plant. It contains an embryo, stored food and a protective coat. Seed plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms) are now the dominant form of land plants.

Seeds can be bean-shaped (reniform) with lobed ends or square or oblong, broadest below the middle; they may also have wings for wind dispersal.

Definition

Seeds are the ripened ovules of flowering plants and similar gymnosperm (conifer) plants. The ovule is surrounded by the fleshy, nourishing tissue known as endosperm and protected by the hard outer seed coat.

A seed contains the embryo of a new plant and a supply of food until the embryo develops roots and leaves. Seeds are used for many foods, including cereal grains such as wheat, rice, barley and oats, legumes such as beans and peas, and spices like cumin, coriander, fennel, and caraway.

In sports, a player or team may be “seeded” to ensure that superior competitors will not meet in the early rounds. The term also applies to business ventures and research projects. The seed is the original idea that germinates into something bigger and more ambitious.

Parts of a seed

A seed contains an embryo that can develop into a new plant. It also has a supply of nutrients for the embryo and a hard shell to protect it. The outer shell is called a seed coat, and it protects the embryo from mechanical damage and parasites.

The inner part of a seed contains tissues that give rise to the roots, stems, and leaves of the new plant. These are known as the radicle and cotyledons. The radicle is a tiny embryonic root that emerges first during germination. The cotyledons store food in the form of starch and proteins.

The cotyledons may be thick and fleshy (as in wheat) or thin and hairy (as in cotton). In monocot seeds, the cotyledons provide nourishment to the embryo. Dicot seeds, such as soybeans, contain no endosperm.

Germination

All seeds have the potential to grow into a new plant once the right conditions are present. The seed embryo or miniature undeveloped plant and its food reserves are enclosed within one or more protective seed coats.

Germination happens when the seed’s outer coating ruptures and the embryo begins to grow into a sprout. The sprout then searches for light, growing toward it. Seeds that don’t find enough light are unable to support themselves and will eventually collapse.

Seeds from both flowering plants and gymnosperms require a period of time to break physiological dormancy. The method used for this purpose is called stratification and involves adding moisture to the seed to hydrate it, followed by a cold period to afterripen the seed. Stratification can also be done in the garden by using a crock pot or placing the seeds inside small jiffy pellets.

Dormancy

Dormancy is a protective mechanism that helps seeds survive adverse conditions. It can be induced by a variety of factors including light, temperature, soil moisture and chemical cues. It is also important during seed development and in the germination process.

Genetic factors influence the acquisition of dormancy in seeds and their ability to break it. For example, germination assays reveal that mutants that germinate more easily are less dormant than the wild type. However, these mutations do not necessarily represent genes that promote or inhibit germination, but rather those that affect dormancy and/or sensing of environmental stimuli.

Physical dormancy is broken by a period of stratification where seeds are incubated at low temperatures over a layer of moist soil. This breaks the inhibitory chemicals that are present in the seed coats.

Dispersal

Plants rely on several different methods for seed dispersal, which are often combined: gravity, wind, ballistic, water and animal-assisted. For example, seeds of some plants fall from the fruit or burst out when the pod dries up; others have hooks or barbs that get caught in animals’ fur and hitch rides farther away from the parent plant.

Water dispersal occurs in plants that grow near bodies of water such as oceans, lakes and ponds. These fruits are waterproof and float for long periods of time, which allows the seeds to be carried by currents over large distances. Examples include coconuts, swan plants and cottonwood trees.

Some seeds are enticingly packaged to encourage animal-assisted dispersal. These seeds have burrs, hooks or sticky hairs that attach to animals’ fur and feathers. Then, after the animals eat the fruit or seeds, they drop and deposit them in new locations far from the parent plant.