F1 Brandywine x Valley Ice (mtf x sfv og)

Feb 5, 2025

Last year I grew a single Brandywine plant, in the greenhouse. I crossed it with a purple F3 Valley Ice male. My intuition was telling me that the two strains were not going to be very compatible. This has proven true.
(Pics of parents below)



The outcross was intended to create a separate line of Valley Ice, that will later be crossed back into the original line. This will help reduce inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression is a phenomenon that occurs when plants with a similar genetic makeup are bred together repeatedly, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity and a decrease in fitness. This can lead to various problems, including:

1. Reduced vigor: Inbred plants may exhibit weaker growth, reduced yields, and lower potency.
2. Increased susceptibility to disease: Lack of genetic diversity makes inbred plants more vulnerable to diseases and pests.
3. Decreased fertility: Inbreeding can lead to reduced seed production, lower germination rates, and decreased pollen viability.
4. Increased mutations: Inbreeding can cause the expression of recessive mutations, leading to undesirable traits.
5. Reduced adaptability: Inbred plants may struggle to adapt to changing environments, making them less resilient.

So far, ive gone through 16 seeds of the F1. Ive found 2 female plants that are exhibiting Valley Ice traits.

Plant #1 has some of traits of the deep purple Valley Ice. Fruity stem aroma and plant structure. The only big difference ive noticed is that this plant in particular has much sturdier stems. This actually is an improvement, because the deep purple Valley Ice plant has really flimsy branches. The leaf structure is similar to the purple father.
Ive taken clones of plant #1


Plant #2 is leaning more towards the traits of the purple father. The stem aroma is quite unique. It is sweet and extremely floral. Ive taken clones of this plant as well.


Plant #3 is not worth going into detail. So far it is not doing anything special. It took forever for it to show its sex.




The 3 female plants that are exhibiting the Brandywine traits have been tossed out into the greenhouse. They will receive no water, no nutes, nothing.


I would like to have 6 females that are exhibiting strong Valley Ice traits, ready for my next indoor cycle. So, ive started 12 more seeds.

Some relevant info.

"So there are two issues that we as a community are confusing. There is the system of notation used to track a gene pool over multiple generations where P1 and F1 F2 etc are just generic shorthand to keep notes. Then there is the system for selecting and naming commercial and breeding stock that we have adopted at least in part from the commercial hybrid corn industry which uses F1 and P1 to refer to breeding stock and commercial seeds. P1 is a generic denotation that means nothing more than to demarcate a starting point of a gene pool. That said a P1s of any commercially sold F1 hybrid corn seed will be comprised of two uniform stable varieties."

Gene chart for Brandywine. I didn't know the strain had such a strong GDP lineage. It is exciting, however, to see that there is some Durban Poison and Big Bud in the genes. Ive grown both of those Sensi strains.
Ive decided that I will try to unlock those genes, by crossing Brandywine x Durban Poison (sensi seeds).

Below are pictures and more info regarding the F1 VI x BW seedlings.

So far Ive kept 3 female plants that will go into the flower tent on the next run. If more plants show sex before the next cycle, they will be shuffled into the tent also.

Plant #1
Showing strong Valley Ice traits. Long internode spacing, correct leaf structure, fruity stem. This plant has been pruned back several times.


Plant #2
Strong VI characteristics. Basically the female version of the Purple Father. Leaf pattern is SFV OG dominant.


Plant #3
Pretty much an exact copy of the Brandywine mother. Compact in structure and slow growing. Stem smells floral and fruity. And no surprise that she is very susceptible to powder mildew, just like the mother. Ive been treating this plant with baking soda water, and its all im willing to do at the moment. Its all under control. Pm is not ravaging my veg tent.


Below is more info on new seedlings. Ive spotted 2 plants that are going to be used in some way. One of them is showing all the characteristics of the MTF, especially the slow growth. The leaf structure is very easy for me to identify, since ive been working with this plant for practically a decade. If this plant turns out to be a female, I will back cross it to the f3 MTF male. If this plant turns out to be a male, it will be used to make the
F2 VI x BW.


The seedling below is displaying incredible vigor. Its quite distinct compared to all the F1 seedlings ive grown so far. I find the structure of the leaf quite attractive. Super curious to see how this plant develops.

So far ive grown out 27 F1 seedlings. Im basically chucking all the male plants that are not showing strong Valley Ice traits, especially the males that have the round leaf pheno (Brandywine). I dont want this trait to carry over into the Valley Ice.
This is selective breeding in a nutshell. Only 2 plants out of 27 are showing strong Valley Ice traits. One is a female, the sex of other plant is to be determined.
(Pic of unwanted leaf pheno . Trait of brandywine)



The last thing I will include, is quite comical. This seedling is growing so compact, its impressive. If my goal was to breed a super compact strain, this seedling would be a unicorn

Im including a pic of my F3 Valley Ice mother, as a reference. She has all the traits ive been selectively breeding.

I believe the leaf structure is Ruderalis x Sativa dominant. Plant has long node spacing, nice open haze structure. Responds really well to lst and scrogging. Medium sized plant, Indoor and outdoor.



Flower





Thats all for now. Cheers.

Ps. Myself and a small community of RIU are helping grow a fairly new forum called GrowDolls. Its free of politics for anyone who is interested. Im not a paid advertiser... LOL.