Hybrid autoflowering cannabis seeds in Canada have become a very lucrative business because not one plant can give you the desired effects at one time. Some plants may alleviate insomnia while others can help with depression. But what if someone wants both effects, and there isn’t a plant that can supply both? That is where hybridization comes into play.
So we all know, or at least should know, how genetics works. Cannabis seeds are diploids, so that means that they get one chromosome from their father (pollen) and one chromosome from their mother (ovum). Cannabis seeds are not-photo dependent which means that they do not need a lot of sunlight, unlike their standard and feminized seeds counterparts.
To get, say, for example, a cannabis flower that helps alleviate insomnia and depression, the phenotype has to work in co-dominance instead of complete dominance. Co-dominance means that both genes are present at the same time at the same strength. However, if you want a cannabis flower that has a certain combined taste, the phenotype has to work in incomplete dominance. Incomplete dominance means that both genes get fused to combine into one, but both tastes are experienced at the same time.
Now that the quick genetics lesson has been cleared, we get to how autoflowering cannabis seed hybrids are made.
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Hybrid Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds Canada: Old Method
Some breeders of hybrid autoflowering cannabis seeds still use the good ole old method of hybridization. You get a true-bred male plant and a true-bred female plant and wait until they start to flower. A “true breed” is just the plant version of a pure breed in which it is not already a hybrid itself. Once the flower blooms, the breeder will cut the male flower and rub it against the female flower to transfer its pollen to the female’s ovum. If the male flower is close enough to the female flower, though, then this can happen naturally. Now, the breeder will repeat this process with every other plant.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this method, but the bad outweighs the good. This is a very time-consuming process and requires a large population to get a viable and sellable product. Although autoflowering cannabis plants do have multiple harvests in one year, the outcome of this one harvest that the breeder is looking for is not what he or she got. This results in a waste of harvest in the sense of the person who was planning on buying this hybrid will now not want to buy it and cancel his or her order. Now the breeder has all of this product that he or she has to find a buyer for.
If no one wants to buy this harvest, then it results in backcrossing. This is another time-consuming process in which the breeder now has to breed the hybrids back to its true breed form. One cannot be able to tell how long this process will take which could mean a loss of time and money that could have been spent on something more productive.
Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds Canada: New Method
Thanks to new technology and advancements in genetics, there are new and improved ways of getting the desired cannabis plant that doesn’t require any backcrossing. According to BATS, a new hybridization method called Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) has risen in the plant and even the human genetics dilemma. This makes hybridization a faster process because the plants are subjected to human control.
Basically what this does is that it uses restriction endonucleases enzymes to find and cut specific nucleotide sequences that contain the code to the desired effect that the breeder wants. The sequences create banding patterns, and the patterns indicate that the desired effect has successfully been implemented into the cannabis plant. Due to human intervention in the genetic level, this will increase the chances of getting the desired plant with the desired effects to almost if not already at 100%. This means no backcrossing, no waste of product, and a quicker turnover rate.
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism has a few downsides though amid its enormous amount of advantages. It is a very price consuming process. The ordinary breeder cannot perform this process because it requires specialized equipment. Not only is specialized equipment a requirement, but also it requires a specialized person that knows what he or she is doing. If you are willing to put out the money for Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, then go for it. It might be worth it in the long run if you don’t mind raising the prices of your cannabis plants to pay for this hybridization method.
Conclusion
Hybrid autoflowering cannabis seeds in Canada is a very in-demand business because people nowadays are looking for specific effects that could help with whatever they are going through. Not only to help the buyer with whatever his or her needs are but also hybridization can help the buyer get the certain taste he or she is looking for. Whether you prefer the old method or new method is up to what you are willing to do.
The old method may be cheaper in the sense that the breeder does not have to spend so much on expensive equipment or hire a specialized scientist, but he or she will have to run the risk of wasting a potential income-generating harvest. The new method may be a better option if the breeder wants to produce the desire autoflowering cannabis plant quicker and more efficiently, but he or she will have to spend a little extra for all of the required equipment and people.
Of course, there are other new ways to create hybrid cannabis plants other than the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, but this is the most recent advancement in hybrid advancement. There may be other options out there that could either be cheaper; however, if you are looking for the fastest and most efficient method then RFLP will be your goto hybridization method.
