Feminize The Seed?

Ask Ed

As plant lines are bred to themselves, the plants can lose some of their vitality or vigor. This results from the genetic makeup becoming more homogeneous as siblings are bred to each other or progeny are backcrossed to parents. When two such lines are crossed, they produce a hybrid that will exhibit “hybrid vigor.” Once a desirable hybrid is created, it is possible to take cuttings from it and its clone progeny repeatedly without loss of vigor.It is at this point that you may wish to create feminized seed. These F1 hybrids will be used for planting in gardens, rather than for breeding. With feminized seeds, the grower knows that every plant is female. The seeds are produced using pollen from male flowers which had been induced to grow on female plants. None of the pollen contains male genetics so they grow only into female plants.
It is at this point that you may wish to create feminized seed. These F1 hybrids will be used for planting in gardens, rather than for breeding. With feminized seeds, the grower knows that every plant is female. The seeds are produced using pollen from male flowers which had been induced to grow on female plants. None of the pollen contains male genetics so they grow only into female plants.

There are a number of other ways to create feminized seed. These include using chemicals such as aspirin and hormones such as gibberellic acid. However, it is easier to breed females to females using chemically-induced or stress-induced male flowers that produce pollen on female plants (forced hermaphrodites).

One drawback is that plants that are induced to produce male flowers may have a slightly higher proclivity toward hermaphroditism than the general population. Using them for breeding may be inadvertently selecting for hermaphroditism. So after five or six generations, some of the plants might have more of a tendency towards hermaphroditism. But there is little chance that plants grown from first-generation feminized seed will become hermaphroditic, so they are ideal for using in the garden.

Readers with grow questions (or answers) should send them to Ed at: Ask Ed, PMB 147, 530 Divisadero St., San Francisco, California 94117, USA. You can also email Ed at AskEd@cannabisculture.com, and send queries via his websites at http://www.ask-ed.net. All featured questions will be rewarded with a copy of Ed’s new book, Best of Ask Ed: Your Marijuana Questions Answered. Source: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/articles/3381.html