HERMAPHRODITES FOR FEMINIZED SEED
I am under the impression that to get feminized seeds you cross a hermaphrodite with a female. But I have also heard that about 50% (or so) of those crossed seeds will be hermaphrodite plants and would have to be pulled anyway if an all-female crop was wanted.
HERMPHRODITES A young female hermaphrodite is a danger to the garden because the pollen could fertilize many flowers.
J.D.
There are several methods of producing feminized seeds, but using hermaphrodites is not a fruitful method. About half the plants will be hermaphrodites and they are harder to detect than males. There are several methods for creating all female seeds. One way is to let buds ripen. Sometimes a few male flowers appear just as the buds ripen. These flowers, which are harmless because the bud is about to be harvested, contain viable pollen that only has female genetics. Be carefully collecting the pollen and using a watercolor brush to pollinate select buds you can produce a small number of seeds.
The second method, and the method used commercially by marijuana seed breeders uses silver containing chemicals silver nitrate and/or silver thiosulfate to chemically alter sexual expression. The resulting male flowers have only female genetics so the resulting seeds produce only female plants. The process is described in more detail in the new edition of Marijuana Grower's Handbook.
S
Soft Secrets
