Preventing Hermies: questions and suggestions.

[raphenilweed]

Recently picked up some gorilla glue starts. Someone I know also has been growing it and has had a few crops with seeds. Not sure if the cuts I have and the cuts they have are from the same "stock" or not. Also have encountered with some web searching that other people have dealt with the strain leaning towards hermie. So it was recommended to pick up some reverse, switch or similar product. I am hoping it will help as it got its fist spray 13 days into 12/12. I have used this product before a number of years ago with succes and I know others have had success with it as well.

So what are some of the ways to prevent a known hermie strain from seeding out? Of course besides the mentioned above. I have a few to get the list starded.

1. Not getting known hermie strain from the beginning.
2. Foliar spray of a product such as DM reverse, switch, florel or any other if not limited to these. (link credit to shaggyballs from this thread #6.)
3. Reducing the light to 8-10 hours the last 2-3 weeks?
-- An acquaintance grew White Widow and would always finish out with seeds. One day he got really upset because seeds started showing (quite a scene lol) and pulled about a dozen enormous ladies out of his room and out to the back yard. It was winter in the desert and the ladies were under an overhang so they really stopped getting direct sunlight. The few remaining plants inside finished off with seeds while the dozen ladies outside finished with very little. Next inside crop he reduced the lighting towards the end and did not get any seeds and was able to get production back. It was his clubs top seller so that's why he had kept it around for so long.
Have not tried this yet myself but I have run a full 10 week strain on 10 on/14 off. It matured about a week quicker, finished better and smelled nicer then the same strain under 12/12.
4. I have read that you can push seeds male/female by giving them different make up of nutrients. An example although its accuracy is questionable would be giving the seed start more nitrogen and it would promote it towards being a male, give it more P as a seed start it would increase the chance of it being female. Again not sure if its the right example its more of a relationship example.
5. Less nutes, eliminate stresses, check for light leaks?

Any questions, suggestions, lurking or rebuttals?

 

[stoned-trout]

buy better genetics...or accept the few seeds...if its lots of seeds get new strain......yeehaw

 

[Collembola]

hello,

outside, the sun lights the whole of the plant, inside you get lumen drop / intensive shading etc etc (this is probably why plants "hermie less outside" (not to mention spectrum) (shade is a stressor)

"plants belong outside" really, (but please don't tell them)

any stressor can bring out the trait (i.e. any little bit of the environment light / humidity / whats going on beneith soil / over nutes / whatever).

but as stoned-trout says, it's a trait / "genetic propensity".

spraying them with things, could supress the trait, but cause stress for something else.

> you do basically have "to buy different genetics".

but also, here, some of the worlds most potent / highly regarded marijuana like thai (or atleast from some regions in thailand (???) seems to carry the trait also.

also some botanists say that ancestoral cannabis were all "hermies" (monoecious), like chilli plants etc

(i generally bring it out with anything with the word "haze" in it).

it's no big-e though, ALOT of the time they produce the odd staminate part in early flower, and you get a few seeds at the end,

i have only ever had 1 plant that i believe was infact a hermaphoridite, but i am not even sure about that as i culled it when it showed preflowers with both parts (dunno if it would continue).

> very good strategy for a plant though, ensure there are some females around for next season, whilst leaving the vast vast majority of calyx available for genetic renewal.

very clever no ?

 

[Collembola]

nice picture stoned trout !!!,

i really enjoy a nice cockortwo

 

[jammie]

hey- i'm a firm believer in dutchmaster's reverse. been using it as directed for over 5 yrs and rarely have more than 2-3 seeds in a 12 plant crop

 

[Collembola]

hey- i'm a firm believer in dutchmaster's reverse. been using it as directed for over 5 yrs and rarely have more than 2-3 seeds in a 12 plant crop

that is kind of suggestive that it doesn't work...

 

[Phaeton]

My favorite plant had the gene for seeds, four years it was the main producer in the garden with seeds guaranteed to start at week six. Harvesting before week eight kept big seeds limited to a few lower buds. The little tiny wrinkled sterile seeds still showed up anywhere.

When Far Red was added at dusk and dawn for the purpose of extending the light period to fourteen hours it had the added benefit of stopping this seed production.
The garden is in it's tenth month of Far Red supplement and two strains of Sativa that normally show seeds late in bud no longer do so.

The Far Red did allow 13.5/10.5 and the buds are visibly larger due to the extra light as was expected.

The lack of seeds in any of the buds is pure unexpected bonus. Only unsubstantiated guesses as to why, but this makes the Far Red worthwhile even if not extending the daytime.