When you plan for doing some breeding of your cannabis crops, you will identify a perfect male from female cannabis plants and know what growing marijuana is all about. You sometimes mistake by purchasing the wrong seeds in place of feminized seeds or purchasing feminized seeds with no guarantee. You can get perfect seeds only from the reputed source.
According to the statistics, the regular cannabis seeds produce a large portion- nearly 75% or even a little more males per crop. However, it is impossible to predict if sources are Female Cannabis Seeds or Male Cannabis Seeds. Besides, it is also tricky to tell if a young plant is female or male before the plant differentiating. The male cannabis seeds have little differing growth characteristics; however, it is not always easy to recognize males from females in the vegetation phase.
Steps to Produce Feminized Plants
So there are a few tricks and techniques to get the precise feminized crops or increasing the likelihood of obtaining more female crops from CBD Seeds. The major factor is the ‘stable growing environment’ of the crop. If the crops tend to be in a stressful environment, it produces more males or even the flowering can turn plants intersex.
Stability In The Environment
The stability of the growing environment is a significant factor in increasing the female to male ratio. At the time when the seeds are germinated, a little fluctuation in the ever-increasing environment is possible, and it is ideal as well. Stress is the enemy of getting female crops.
The environment, stable temperature, and humidity is truly an essential requirement for plant growth. To inhibit the germination, hemp seeds should be kept at 85 degrees centigrade for 24 hours. Only you have to keep in mind that the photoperiod begins and finishes at the same time regularly. There should be no light pollution interrupting plants during the night cycle, and in every watering, the nutrient mixes should be the same. Fluctuations in nutrient mixes can cause stress, increasing the chance of male crops.
Fewer Hours Of Lights On Seedlings
It is always tempting for any grower to expose the crops to 24 hours of light to get the bud faster. This though grows the plants quicker, but it also increases the risks of male crop development. For increasing the chances of the female crop, it is essential to expose the crops to an 18-6 day-night photoperiod. Further, the chances increase when the day length is reduced to 16 hours. To maximize the female crop possibility, reduce the day period to 14.5 hours of light.
The shorter day length does slow growth during vegetation, but it is favorable for increasing the possibility of the female by 70 to 100%. To get the best value of the expensive primo seeds, it is better to expose an extra week of vegetation. During vegetation, some patience is preferred to throw half of the entire crop away later on.
One of the disadvantages of exposing crops to 24 hours of light is that the vegetation is low; root development also interrupts gas exchange. The root development and effective oxygen exchange occur majorly at night time. Healthy roots mean healthy plants.
Use Cool and Blue Light
During vegetation, a blue light spectrum promotes female development. For the infant plants, white or blue spectrum fluorescent light is suitable. However, metal halide lamps are ideal for the cannabis vegetation phase. It effectively imitates summer light, which is the natural vegetation period of cannabis.
Increase Nitrogen
During the vegetation phase, cannabis plants consume lots of nitrogen. The slight increase in nitrogen (N) and reducing potassium (K) can increase female crop possibility. During the early crop development phase, a potassium-rich nutrient blend will enhance the chances of male crops.
Higher Humidity And Moisture In Air And Soil
The female development is boosted by higher and stably humidity levels right from the germination right throughout the vegetation. Similarly, a consistent and stable watering routine maintains an ideal level of moisture for growth. The growth of female plants is promoted by stable moisture exposure in air.
Young Plants
When plants are young, it ensures a high humidity of a minimum of 70 to 80% RH. During the infant stage, the humidity dome is easily maintained. The potential thing to consider is that the growth medium should not dry out too much. There is a broad line in maintaining a healthy wet-dry cycle, and over-drying as a too-dry medium boosts male development.
Pubescent Plants
It is essential to maintain humidity at 70% RH. To keep the ideal moisture for growing crops, the hygrometer should be used. To maintain the correct humidity, make use of a humidifier/dehumidifier unit. Regularly monitor the moisture content. Overwatering and overdrying are stress vectors, encouraging male crops.
Flowering
In the flowering phase, slowly reduce the humidity to 40 to 50%. It is recommended to avoid dropping to the extreme level in one go. Reduction in gradual humidity prevents stress. Very high humidity probe several issues for cannabis flowers. Currently, a specialized technique is developed to detect the sex of the plant during the vegetation phase.
Don’t Stress
Stress is the enemy of marijuana. During times of stress, the possibility of getting male pollination increases. A well-pollinated single female crop can produce hundreds of seeds, preserving the species into the next season. When putting the crop indoors, the grower has full control on the growing environment. With rigorous plant care, stress can be minimized. Well-maintained young plants increase the possibility of female plants, probing more buds in the jar at the end of the day.
How To Identify Quality Cannabis Seeds?
Like any other crop, a successful cannabis harvest starts with high-quality seeds. However, it is tricky to identify the best quality seeds.
Appearance and Color
The most effective seeds are tan, brown, or even black. The immature seeds are lighter colors like yellow, white, and pale green.
Size and Shape
The best quality largest seeds are the most symmetrical round or teardrop-shaped, whereas immature seeds are small or often with an irregular shape.
Hardness and Durability
The best seeds have a hard outer finish with a smooth and uncracked surface, whereas bad seeds have soft surfaces that easily crack, crinkle, or crumble completely.
Age
Seeds degrade over time like genetic material, so prefer freshly harvested seeds for more viability than seeds that are months or years old.
Float Test
Drop the seed in distilled water and leave it for a few hours; if it sinks, it generally has a better chance of germinating than seeds that float.
Bottom Line
Feminized plants are more comfortable to grow in a limited space. There is an increasing demand for female plants as they are easier to develop and produce at home. Females can produce resin-secreting flowers. Even the un-pollinated females can make resins and flowers that are likely to produce potential cannabis.