Breeding

[F420]

http://www.geocities.com/chronicfarming/chapter/breed.html

 

 

Since there seems to be so much confusing information floating around concerning breeding high-quality strains, I've taken it upon myself ot clear the air - and in plain English that your average basement botanist can understand and actually put to use.

Some of the confusion around the issue of F1s and F2s is self-perpetuating. Bad information handed around freely. If you can grow high-quality plants, you already possess the necessary elements of a solid breeding program.

Granted, you need a good seed to start with, but if you're interested in breeding, a few very simple guidlines can virtually assure success without compromising the integrity of your seedless babies. Aside from that, it's also fun to experiment with breeding toward that ideal plant (as if you would stop when you got there!).

 

Defenitions

• Backcrossing: Crossing an offspring with one of its parents to reinforce a parental trait.
• Outcrossing: Crossing a plant with an unrelated variety.
• Stabilized Hybrid: A variety that was bred, hten backcrossed with itself for successive generations, the end result being a true-breeding strain. Example: Skunk #1.
• F1 Hybrid: The result of crossing two unrelated varieties to produce a strain bearing characteristics of both parents. Example: Northern Lights #5 x Haze #1.
• F2 Hybrid: A cross of two related plants; pertains only to hybrids. Example: Any F1 bred to itself, or any crossing of this line back to itself.
• Pure Variety: Any true-breeding population. Example: Afghani, Durban and Thai.

Scenarios-

Surely everyone fits into one of these groups:

• Scenario #1: You are currently growing a variety and no males are available.
• Scenario #2: You have just started seed, and males and females are available
• Scenario #3: You have both female plants and unrelated seed abalable to select a male.
• Scenario #4:: You have female plants growing, seed from a cross with these plants, or a hermaphrodite of these plants.
• Scenario #5: You have several types of unrelated seed to select males and females from.

Most of us are in scenario #1, making breeding an impossibility. Those in this group must buy seed, obviously, to engage in any kind of breeding program. If you are lucky enough to fit into another category, you're well on your way. However, folks in group #1 can rest assured that any breeding they do with unrelated stock will produce F1 seed.

 

In scenario #2, you will not be able to produce F1 seed. This is assuming you have 10 seeds of one variety (otherwise you're in group #5!). Crossing these plants will produce F2 seeds, however, if your particular variety is a stabilized hybrid or a pure variety, you may breed and those seeds can rightfully be called by the name of the parent stock, omitting the F2: Afghani x Afghani = Afghani; (NL #5 x Haze) x (NL #5 x Haze) = F2.

 

With scenario #3, you may breed your stock to your plants. As long as they are unrelated, it will produce F1 seeds.

 

Number 4 is a little trickier. If you are growing a stabilized hybrid or pure variety, the seed in your possession is OK, and breeding with it should be fine. The depth of the parent stock that produced the first plants may come into play, but if it came from a reputable source and you trust it, go ahead. Usually no improvement will be shown, but seed insurance counts for something.

 

If the plants are a hybrid variety, but you chose to cross them anyway when a male was available, the seeds will be F2. You can use these seeds to produce a plant that, when crossed with an unrelated variety, will give F1 seed: (NL #5 x Haze) F2 x Afghani = F1. (Regardless of the source of the seed, any outside cross will produce F1s, no matter how screwy the genetics.)

 

In scenario #5, you may breed among these seeds at will. Just don't try to cross hybrids with themselves. As before, stabilized hybrids and pure varieties may cross with themselves (or eachother).

Most of us should assume we are growing F1 hybrids unless solid evidence exists against it. Interesting results can be achieved by outcrossing these plants, especially when the parent strains have marked differences between them - indica x sativa, tall x short, etc. It is worthwhile and deserves pursuing.

 

Rules

With that said, here are my overstimplified breeding rules - kinda honkey, but nonetheless accurate.

 

A question: Would you sleep with your sister? You shouldn't - and neither should your plant! Same for grandparents, close cousins, etc. Now master breeders might argue this point, and I'll have to concede that, for Amsterdam-type breeding, it may be necessart to inbreed populations, but the end result is predictable. In every case this is a step backwards. Potency will be lost. My personal opinion is that too much of this hurts everyone, as genetic info is being lost, hence the sameness one finds among any varieties now offered for sale. We owe it to the plant - diversity is a must.

 

Most gardeners are growing clones, so your first step is to find a male plant suitable for tinkering with. My suggestion is to buy (though it sucks) some quality seed froma reputable supplier. You won't need to spend 500 bucks on Thunder Kush 2000 or whatever the hell "masters" are promoting this week. Avoid the hype: Old stock, such as Northern Lights, Skunks and Afghanis in particular, are the foundations upon which the seed dealers propped up the new varieties. Pure strains of these are readily available, particularly up North. They are cheap, and although they represent too many years of successive inter-population breeding, they are fine for outcrossing.

 

Once the seeds have been procured, start them by your normal method. And don't freak out about pollinating plants you wish to remain unseeded. You will have plenty of time to detect the males. This is where most growers blow it. The prospect of accidentally producing 10 zillion seeds makes them build elaborate multiple-room setups. You can relax. The male flower needs to actually open before pollination can occur. The "sperm count" of most male plants, like humans, seems to be going down. Some varieties, especially Shiva Shanti and others where hermaphrodites are a problem, are particularly hard to breed with - the males are just sterile or close to it.

For those who have never grown a male plant, they are quite different than the females with respect to the abuse they can endure. A windowsill that would never provide enough light for pot is fine for a male. Simply look after it until a few flowers have opened and collect them. If you have an empty crack vial - which I hope you don't - or something of that nature, just cut the flowers off and let them fall into your jar, vial, or baggie. A paintbrush or even a toothpick can be used to distribute the pollen. I sometimes go right into my garden and apply it with little or no unwanted pollination. Now if you dropped your pollen container, that might cause a problem. Just be careful not to introduce it into the airstream.

Generally, 20 flowers will produce enough seeds to continue a breeding program. Eventually, using small-scale techniques, you will have the diversity you desire, and no one will ever say, "somebody else is growing htis too." Your plants will be as unique as you are. Just keep introducing new genetic material, and every seed you produce will be an F1.

 

If you have plenty of patience, you might enjoy germinating just one seed at a time (or two), thus building a personal seed bank of your own design for use in case of emergency, like quick relocation or some other disaster.

 

(end of article)

[Skunkxxx]

Nice Thread Enjoyed reading it.Thanks

[Guest SOMEONE]

nice... you have halped me understand something that i thought was something i would never grasp...

 

excellent thread love your work!!!

[WantDaChronic]

good read, thanks ferengi :smoke

[Roadblock]

A question: Would you sleep with your sister? You shouldn't - and neither should your plant! Same for grandparents, close cousins, etc. Now master breeders might argue this point, and I'll have to concede that, for Amsterdam-type breeding, it may be necessart to inbreed populations, but the end result is predictable. In every case this is a step backwards. Potency will be lost. My personal opinion is that too much of this hurts everyone, as genetic info is being lost, hence the sameness one finds among any varieties now offered for sale. We owe it to the plant - diversity is a must.

 

I enjoyed the read but the above quote is totally false in all species .

 

Inbreeding is one of the best methods to develope a pure strain possesing the traits you are selecting for , but you must have the following .

 

1) As good a strain as you can get to begin with .

 

2) Conditions and management know how to get the best out of the stock .

 

3) Resources to run numbers , lots of numbers .

 

Nothing will be lost by inbreeding if you select correctly , only inbreeding allows you to isolate very specific traits and breed for them so they are imbeded as a genetic trait , selection is your most powerfull tool , there is an old saying " Like begets Like "

 

All pedigree dogs breeds are a direct result of inbreeding , all performance breeds of animals from PitDogs to Racing Pigeons are inbreed into not only strains or lines but very tight familys , inbreeding is a very good tool when used correctly , selection is everything !

 

Rod

[nugget]

Beauty, Great read. I'm defintely gonna give this a shot somewhere down the track.

 

And to think this was posted over 2 years ago :scratchin

Edited February 21, 2006 by nugget23

[Ozzy420]

Great read...

[thc24]

thanks Ferengi, :thumbsup