First and foremost, let's give credit and props when they are due. Many of the guys mentioned here aren't breeding at all but creating new hybrids with other existing strains, that's far from breeding a new cannabis variety.
Especially if we speak about those guys whose strains are mostly based off existing elite clones and so on. That's just amateur pollen chucking like we all do at our homes. Of course some guys have more skills and great talent for that than others, or more contacts/chances to source better genetics and cuts, or more resources and opportunities to make bigger selections, or more knowledge and tools to do that in the most professional possible way, but that's still far from real plant breeding. Any of the amateur and humble guys from the 90s dutch or swiss scene worked with much higher numbers back then and were closer to the breeder figure than most new school "breeders".
But it's not always about the numbers only but about the goals and criteria. There are small underground seedbanks releasing new strains after years of work. Maybe they can't grow 1,000s or even 100s in one time, but they invest years after years improving their strains until they get what they are looking for. At least that's something, not simply getting new elites or hyped strains each season and just putting another reversed elite or a decent looking male (of course one that wasn't thoroughly progeny-tested either) over all those clone-onlys. Maybe backcrossing a few times on the cut again and that's it, but WTF? Anyone can do that, no big deal, right? No breeding either. Just the damn trend of getting a clone elite and making a seed line off it by bakcrossing any other trendy strain. Or simply having the hope that elite x elite will result in nice strains and most growers will be happy, so why bothering much? lol
Like Chaos said, most botanists or plant breeders will definitely laugh at the canna-breeders and I can understand why. Real plant breeders create brand new varieties that are:
1 .homogeneus
2. distinctive
3. recognizable by its characteristics
4. recognizably different from any other existing variety
5. remain unchanged through the process of propagation (offspring has the same quality of parent plants).
Under the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, if a plant variety grouping does not meet these criteria, it should not considered to be a variety. After understanding that, the Convention also defines a breeder as:
"the person who bred, or discovered and developed, a variety".
As for legit cannabis strain breeders I will only include those that created brand new strains with original landrace/heirloom material or meeting the criteria above for new varieties like Sam Skunkman, DJ Short, Charlie Garcia (CBG), Tom Hill, Mario (Delicatessen) and probably a bunch of others I don't really remember or even know in the underground scene. But that's the point, they grow landraces or heirloom strains, they study them, they think which one could match with each other and be 1+1=3, they use their big experience to follow a path, fix the long term goals, cull in consequence and that's it, results can be seen after years of work.
Then we have people like Nevil, Breeder Steve, Grimm Bros, Eddie Redeeker (TFD), Simon Serious or all the new school guys for example like Bodhi, Subcool, Moonshine, Karma and all those talented guys outcrossing other existing hybrids, heirlooms or elite plants bred by other people before and giving them a twist, improving or combining them in order to create slightly different hybrids based off those, sometimes with character, sometimes not.
Finally we can't forget about all the oportunists and bussiness men bunch like Shantibaba, Arjan, Ben Dronkers, Dinafem, DNA, Barney's or all the US and Europe guys chucking on Chem, GG#4, GSC and all the trendy elites and cup winners nowadays. Let's get real, they are just looking for the quick buck and easy props but within a few years, no one will remember anything about them and their strains. They aren't doing anything even close to breeding but taking advantage on other's peoples works and hiring third parties to produce their seeds. You can see how each year they need to release new strains and invest a lot in marketing to prevail, guess why? Because it's the only way they have to keep attracting customers.
For me there another thing I consider certainly important in cannabis breeding: the breeder's taste and signature. Most strains from a breeder should have a certain distinctive character, be it the structure, the flowering times, the smell, the effect and so on. It's the breeder's signature that makes every single strain to be part of a bigger group of recognizable strains bred under the same criteria and style. Grow strains from DJ Short and all of them have certain similarities that are totally DJ's indeed, be the type of high, the colors... that's what made him famous actually and how he developed a timeless signature in cannabis breeding!
But crossing Chem with GSC or any other trendy elite from the past season... damn, how the fuck can you even call that your own breeding work if it's 100% based off other people's work and criteria? What's actually your real contribution to the work? Absolutely none, just some pollen tossing that even a kid could do. Problem is that most growers don't even take the time to educate themselves on history or botany basics and because of this, everyone wants to make money off them!
Another important point, many growers don't need breeders, they are just looking for potent strains to get wasted or grow what's fashionable this season, actually they prefer strains to be similar to each other, not something really different. So for this kind of customer this shouldn't be a problem at all. Things are gonna change though, times are changing and the grower's and pothead's profiles as well. Time will say.
Vibes.
Especially if we speak about those guys whose strains are mostly based off existing elite clones and so on. That's just amateur pollen chucking like we all do at our homes. Of course some guys have more skills and great talent for that than others, or more contacts/chances to source better genetics and cuts, or more resources and opportunities to make bigger selections, or more knowledge and tools to do that in the most professional possible way, but that's still far from real plant breeding. Any of the amateur and humble guys from the 90s dutch or swiss scene worked with much higher numbers back then and were closer to the breeder figure than most new school "breeders".
But it's not always about the numbers only but about the goals and criteria. There are small underground seedbanks releasing new strains after years of work. Maybe they can't grow 1,000s or even 100s in one time, but they invest years after years improving their strains until they get what they are looking for. At least that's something, not simply getting new elites or hyped strains each season and just putting another reversed elite or a decent looking male (of course one that wasn't thoroughly progeny-tested either) over all those clone-onlys. Maybe backcrossing a few times on the cut again and that's it, but WTF? Anyone can do that, no big deal, right? No breeding either. Just the damn trend of getting a clone elite and making a seed line off it by bakcrossing any other trendy strain. Or simply having the hope that elite x elite will result in nice strains and most growers will be happy, so why bothering much? lol
Like Chaos said, most botanists or plant breeders will definitely laugh at the canna-breeders and I can understand why. Real plant breeders create brand new varieties that are:
1 .homogeneus
2. distinctive
3. recognizable by its characteristics
4. recognizably different from any other existing variety
5. remain unchanged through the process of propagation (offspring has the same quality of parent plants).
Under the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, if a plant variety grouping does not meet these criteria, it should not considered to be a variety. After understanding that, the Convention also defines a breeder as:
"the person who bred, or discovered and developed, a variety".
As for legit cannabis strain breeders I will only include those that created brand new strains with original landrace/heirloom material or meeting the criteria above for new varieties like Sam Skunkman, DJ Short, Charlie Garcia (CBG), Tom Hill, Mario (Delicatessen) and probably a bunch of others I don't really remember or even know in the underground scene. But that's the point, they grow landraces or heirloom strains, they study them, they think which one could match with each other and be 1+1=3, they use their big experience to follow a path, fix the long term goals, cull in consequence and that's it, results can be seen after years of work.
Then we have people like Nevil, Breeder Steve, Grimm Bros, Eddie Redeeker (TFD), Simon Serious or all the new school guys for example like Bodhi, Subcool, Moonshine, Karma and all those talented guys outcrossing other existing hybrids, heirlooms or elite plants bred by other people before and giving them a twist, improving or combining them in order to create slightly different hybrids based off those, sometimes with character, sometimes not.
Finally we can't forget about all the oportunists and bussiness men bunch like Shantibaba, Arjan, Ben Dronkers, Dinafem, DNA, Barney's or all the US and Europe guys chucking on Chem, GG#4, GSC and all the trendy elites and cup winners nowadays. Let's get real, they are just looking for the quick buck and easy props but within a few years, no one will remember anything about them and their strains. They aren't doing anything even close to breeding but taking advantage on other's peoples works and hiring third parties to produce their seeds. You can see how each year they need to release new strains and invest a lot in marketing to prevail, guess why? Because it's the only way they have to keep attracting customers.
For me there another thing I consider certainly important in cannabis breeding: the breeder's taste and signature. Most strains from a breeder should have a certain distinctive character, be it the structure, the flowering times, the smell, the effect and so on. It's the breeder's signature that makes every single strain to be part of a bigger group of recognizable strains bred under the same criteria and style. Grow strains from DJ Short and all of them have certain similarities that are totally DJ's indeed, be the type of high, the colors... that's what made him famous actually and how he developed a timeless signature in cannabis breeding!
But crossing Chem with GSC or any other trendy elite from the past season... damn, how the fuck can you even call that your own breeding work if it's 100% based off other people's work and criteria? What's actually your real contribution to the work? Absolutely none, just some pollen tossing that even a kid could do. Problem is that most growers don't even take the time to educate themselves on history or botany basics and because of this, everyone wants to make money off them!
Another important point, many growers don't need breeders, they are just looking for potent strains to get wasted or grow what's fashionable this season, actually they prefer strains to be similar to each other, not something really different. So for this kind of customer this shouldn't be a problem at all. Things are gonna change though, times are changing and the grower's and pothead's profiles as well. Time will say.
Vibes.
Last edited:
