Regular seed is essential for growers who want to keep cultivating a particular strain. The seeds can be used to clone the plant and create the same exact specimen that you have come to love for its potency, flavour profile or morphology.
Feminized seed only produces female plants so it is not ideal for growers that want to continue to produce the same strains.
Unaltered Genetics
There are several reasons why growers choose to work with regular seed. For starters, many cultivars that have been around for generations were never feminized due to the market of the time. These old-school genetics are preserved in regular form so they can be back crossed or produced as a new generation of cultivar.
In addition, regular seeds contain both male and female chromosomes. This means that from a single regular seed there could be either a male or a female plant or even an intersex (hermaphrodite) plant. This is very different from feminized seeds that only produce female plants.
The other reason is that some growers enjoy breeding their own cannabis strains and a lot of this happens with regular seed. By using male and female plants growers can create a unique hybrid with the characteristics that they desire. This is something that expert breeders can do very well, but it is also an activity that the average hobbyist grower can engage in as long as they have a good understanding of how to select and breed plants for their particular desired traits.
No Feminization
While feminized seeds are becoming more and more popular, growers still enjoy working with regular seed. It is easier to work with regular seeds, as there are no issues with male plants ruining your harvest and the seeds that remain can be used for future cultivation.
Feminized seeds are created by using a chemical reversal to create pollen that can fertilize other female plants. The result is all-female plants with no male chromosomes, making them the ideal choice for beginner growers.
Growers can also work with regular seeds to create hybrids, as they can be crossed with any other strain. This is one of the main reasons that a lot of growers prefer to work with regular seeds. They allow for more experimentation and creativity, so you can create your own unique cannabis varieties. Lastly, regular seeds produce better yields and quality than their feminized counterparts. This is because they don’t have to worry about the production of male plants and wasting seeds and nutrients.
More Expensive
Although feminized seeds have become more popular, many growers continue to appreciate the power of regular seed and prefer to work with them. They are ideal for developing mother plants or crossing them with other strains to create incredible new cultivars.
Because they can produce male plants, regular seed also allows growers and breeders to select the best phenotypes for future use, making them an excellent choice for breeding. This is important as it helps to preserve genetics and reduce the time and energy required to produce new strains.
Regular seeds tend to be more expensive than feminized seeds, but they are still less expensive than most other forms of marijuana seed. The decision to choose a type of seed should be made based on the grower’s needs, goals, and growing conditions. Feminized seeds are a good option for those who want to focus on yield and require consistent crops, while regular seed is better for those looking for high-quality plants with more genetic diversity.
Less Yield
Unlike feminized or autoflowering seeds, regular cannabis seeds do not guarantee that every plant grown will be female. In fact, they will almost certainly produce some male plants, especially if you stress your plants by using techniques like topping, fimming or lollypopping. These hermaphrodite plants will go on to produce hermaphrodite flowers and you’ll lose out on a good harvest.
For this reason, some experienced growers prefer to work with regular seeds. It allows them to develop a large selection of both male and female phenotypes that they can later use in breeding projects. It also means that they can eliminate male plants early in the growing process, freeing up space and nutrients for females. By doing so, they can maximize the yield per crop. This is especially useful when growing a variety of strains in the same room for a breeding project. It is essential to remove male plants before they pollinate the females, otherwise you’ll get far lower yields from your female plants.