Plant breeding is surely the most romantic aspect of the cannabis industry and, of course, the most important too. From these breeding and selection processes derive the new strains that later go on sale. And those who are responsible for making sure the whole process runs smoothly are the breeders.
They are pivotal figures of seed banks as they are responsible for the creation and improvement of cannabis strains. We have talked to the team of breeders of Dinafem Seeds to learn about what goes on behind the scenes. How are new cannabis strains created? What does this job really entail? Keep reading to find out!
What Does The Breeding Process Involve?
The breeder sets their goal, that is, the ‘ideal plant’ they want to obtain, which they use to select the parents—plants which resemble the ideal he is after as closely as possible. Once they have selected the parental plants according to the desirable traits, they cross them to obtain the first generation, referred to as F1.
They then assess the individuals of the F1 and selects the ones that most closely resemble the target plant. The F1 individuals that exhibit the desirable characteristic are either inbred (crossed between them) or backcrossed (crossed with the parents), according to the specific goal.
The offspring of the F1, the second generation or F2, is assessed and the individuals with desirable traits are selected and crossed into the F3. The resulting third generation is normally a stable population, although in some cases—with autoflowering strains, for instance—a fourth generation may be necessary to ensure stability.
What Is A Breeder?
Dinafem
Breeders are professionals that create cannabis strains whose traits stand out for some reason, bringing something new and