Telepod
Member
*disclaimer* I am high.
that being said, I think I have a good idea for how small-scale breeders with limited space can increase the number of females they are able to grow and smoke-test.
It's a sort of a SOG or sea of clones, but each is a small clone of a different plant grown from the seedlot being tested. You could top each plant, say after six or eight nodes of growth but leaving a 1 or 2 inch long cutting (enough to root) and sticking the cuttings in a bubbling cloner... everything labeled and organized of course.
By the time your cuttings have pooped roots, been transferred into soil (or whatever system U youse) and established themselves, enough time may have passed (2-3 weeks) that they are mature and ready to flower anyway. if not then force maturation, what the hell, and flower them... with such small plants you would have room for many more per square foot, only each is still a different seed plant, and each has a labeled 'mother plant' waiting in the wings. I should backtrack and add that the original topped plants ought to be trained and pruned into mother plants while the clones are being flowered out.
Now this is only worth considering if the smoke-test is all important or if you are breeding for SOG; there is no way to see what a full-size plant is going to do with this method. Many of the traits we find important are concentrated in the dried, finished bud however so selection based on this is still valid. Relative yield and vigor could still be established by observation of small clones... no matter how you grow you will be selecting for what works in your environment, so this method doesn't change that.
Actually there are a number of drawbacks to this idea, namely the potential of forced maturation (which some say affects the character of the growth or more often the high of the finished bud, versus fully mature plants), and also the much higher plant count == increased risk in most countries. In countries with less risk, one probably wouldn't have as many space constraints.
On the whole I can't decide if it's worth trying or not...
the other advantage over growing fewer, larger plants would be speeded up development time versus running multiple trials (to get the same plant numbers).
Is anyone still reading this far?
Great, tell me what you think. How important do you think it is to select from larger numbers of plants? Will it increase the stability or consistency of your final hybrid, or only your chance of finding that "one-in-a-million" individual plant?
Trying to stimulate some thought,
-Telepod
that being said, I think I have a good idea for how small-scale breeders with limited space can increase the number of females they are able to grow and smoke-test.
It's a sort of a SOG or sea of clones, but each is a small clone of a different plant grown from the seedlot being tested. You could top each plant, say after six or eight nodes of growth but leaving a 1 or 2 inch long cutting (enough to root) and sticking the cuttings in a bubbling cloner... everything labeled and organized of course.
By the time your cuttings have pooped roots, been transferred into soil (or whatever system U youse) and established themselves, enough time may have passed (2-3 weeks) that they are mature and ready to flower anyway. if not then force maturation, what the hell, and flower them... with such small plants you would have room for many more per square foot, only each is still a different seed plant, and each has a labeled 'mother plant' waiting in the wings. I should backtrack and add that the original topped plants ought to be trained and pruned into mother plants while the clones are being flowered out.
Now this is only worth considering if the smoke-test is all important or if you are breeding for SOG; there is no way to see what a full-size plant is going to do with this method. Many of the traits we find important are concentrated in the dried, finished bud however so selection based on this is still valid. Relative yield and vigor could still be established by observation of small clones... no matter how you grow you will be selecting for what works in your environment, so this method doesn't change that.
Actually there are a number of drawbacks to this idea, namely the potential of forced maturation (which some say affects the character of the growth or more often the high of the finished bud, versus fully mature plants), and also the much higher plant count == increased risk in most countries. In countries with less risk, one probably wouldn't have as many space constraints.
On the whole I can't decide if it's worth trying or not...
the other advantage over growing fewer, larger plants would be speeded up development time versus running multiple trials (to get the same plant numbers).
Is anyone still reading this far?
Great, tell me what you think. How important do you think it is to select from larger numbers of plants? Will it increase the stability or consistency of your final hybrid, or only your chance of finding that "one-in-a-million" individual plant?Trying to stimulate some thought,
-Telepod
