Crossbreeding Can Create Hybrids – And feminized Seeds Are A Great Option
While I am not an expert in marijuana, I have grown some from time to time in my organic garden. I do not intend to turn any of them into marijuana (that is a whole other topic), but here are my findings. There is a pretty close correlation between gender and the potency of a plant. On that note, let’s look at some of the differences between regular seed and marijuana seed.
Regular seeds, whether they are African or Asian, are considered less potent than feminized or intersex seeds. The only real difference is that in a regular seed only male plants should come up, while in a regular seed only female plants should come up. Hermaphroditic female plants can also be discovered, although this is usually due to a poor choice of parents at the cultivation of the species, so, basically… There are more intersex species than regular seeds. So, there is more variety and more likelihood for you to get a feminization seed.
When it comes to flowering time, most of us are familiar with the large variety of flowering plants. We have blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, lily of the valley, and many more. With the large variety in flowering, it is no wonder that marijuana is a big cash crop! However, many of the well-known hybrid varieties, such as African mango, cherry tomato, and hybrid coffees like Jamaican Blue, are not used by most commercial growers to produce cannabis.
Many reasons exist for the selection of females over males when it comes to marijuana seeds. Some of the most common reasons include disease, time constraints on the part of the grower, or simply the lack of funds for the cultivation of an alternative plant variety. It has been discovered that even though females grow quicker than males, they do not produce any bigger buds or leaves. On the other hand, when you cross a male with a female, the buds grow much larger and they also produce a greater amount of resin. This proves that marijuana seeds are crossable, and therefore, the yield per plant is dependent upon whether or not the plant will grow either male or female.
When it comes to producing feminized seeds, breeders must take note that the characteristics of each variety are very unique to its mother plant. It is therefore impossible to produce similar results through crossbreeding, which makes breeding a tedious, expensive, and extremely risky process. It would be preferable if marijuana breeders used only regular seeds and crossbred those with feminized seeds. This is because they can be made to look very similar to the original plant and produce similar results. The only problem with this method is that it is time consuming, costly, and it is tedious.
Regular seed-to-strain crossbreeding has been proven to produce hybrid marijuana plants that have increased in height and resiliency. The biggest difference between regular seeds and feminized ones is the development of buds and leaves. In crossbreeding indica plants grow taller than they normally do, allowing them to have better resiliency. They also have thicker leaves than regular seeds. Hybrid marijuana plants grow more resilient to stress and high temperatures, which could mean that it has been subjected to conditions which make normal seeds succumb to stress and temperature. Another way that feminized plants grow taller than regular seeds is through mutating the genes that create the “Turner Syndrome” in plants.
In order to use marijuana seeds for breeding, you must first grow a large number of buds. After you have crossed two strains so that they have equal chances of developing into feminized plants, then you can select one particular strain and start raising crops from that strain. Crossbreeding often creates crossing strains which produce balanced results, but the chances are lower.
Some growers prefer to crossbreed indica and delta-9-tetrahydrocurrens, which create strains with greater resistance to diseases and insects. These traits make these cannabis plants ideal for indoor gardening enthusiasts. When it comes to feminized seeds, some growers produce feminized seeds by accident or by chance. Whichever method you use to crossbreed your plants, keep in mind that you need to keep in mind both the specific characteristics of each parent plant, as well as the environment in which it will be grown.