Interview w/ Joint Doc about LowRyder Origins

[HumbleGrower]

Interview with the Joint Doctor

How and where did you acquire the auto-flowering genetics?

"Many years ago I started trading seed with a new acquaintance, Antonio, who is now sadly passed on. A spry, dreadlocked Mexico expatriate, Antonio had been collecting and growing unusual strains for 30-plus years. We met through mutual acquaintances and became great friends, though he was old enough to be my dad. I learnt a great deal through him, and we shared a passion for collecting rare plants; from blue potatoes to poppies and hemp. Getting to the point, one of the types of cannabis seed I acquired from Antonio was called “Mexican Rudy,” a strain which stayed short and flowered earlier than anything else we had. I didn’t know too much about it. At first the name seemed contradictory: “Rudy” almost certainly stood for ruderalis, a mythical, rare subspecies of wild cannabis from Siberia which has a short growth habit and quick life cycle; but I failed to see the link with Mexico, though it was the country of Antonio’s origin. Was this simply an unrelated ruderalis-like plant from Mexico, or did it have a link to the real thing? Although no-one can be sure until some type of genetic fingerprinting is done, I now believe that the Mexican Rudy was actually an experimental cross of Russian ruderalis and Mexican cannabis, made sometime in the 1970s, possibly at the U. of Mississippi in the U.S. I found obscure references to this very cross in scientific literature circa 1978. In any case, the strain was kept and grown out in Canada for several years before it got to me. The Rudy was indeed a short, quick-flowering strain, with medium potency. To improve its taste, strength, and just to experiment a little, I crossed it first with a Northern Lights #2 female, then a William’s Wonder clone. Out of the second generation of hybrids, a selection of extremely short and quick plants, flowering immediately under 24 hours of daylight, were selected for further multiplication. All the subsequent generations retained this “autoflowering” characteristic. The hybrid, dubbed simply Willy’s Automatic at first, became the basis for Lowryder. I grew the variety out on a small scale, selecting the best specimens for another five or six generations before it became commercialized. Unfortunately, Antonio passed away before Lowryder’s commercial potential was realized. That’s the toughest part for me: I will never be able to properly thank him. At least, we can talk about him now and acknowledge his contribution with no fear of getting him in trouble. Bless you Antonio."

Found on this website: http://www.lowryderseeds.info/
Peace.

HumbleGrower