Genetics: what to look for in a plant

I been asking the same question lately and have had a couple buddies tell me that I wanna look for vigor or growth traits the first time around, and to keep an eye out for smell and any coloration that I might be looking for!

Also the rate of successful cloning is something to check the 1st round too, to determine the keeper!

I wanna have bred within the next 12 months for sure

Best way to slow vertical growth and expand the lateral growth is through pruning. Like you said with topping the main cola, once you do that you no longer have a plant that wants to dedicate most of its energy to just one branch. Once you do that, the removal of CERTAIN leaves in certain areas can help you keep growth only taking place where you want it to. That is what true defoliation is. Not these hack jobs cutting every leaf off their plants and bitching it didn double their yield because " more light was Effin to the buds"

Tying can achieve the same (or better in some strains) results as topping... less stress and keeping the dominant cola and the flowering hormones stored there-- just tying it and all the other branches down as far as possible in all directions out away from the center. As they veg- the center fills in with new colas and all the tied branches bend up toward the light and the internodal "suckers" become colas as well... we have some now with 14-16 colas just from tying them...
YES- they look hacked & run over when 1st really tied hard- but they bounce right back in a matter of days...

And I agree-- too many people removing fan leaves to let light on the buds--- you can push em out of the way, but don't remove them-- Fans are what do the photosynthesis that feeds the plant... removing the Fans is like turning down the lights or lowering their feed... Unless they are under the canopy & not receiving light or damaged-- they should be left alone IMO.

polyarcturus said:

when you can dial it in without those things, thats when you are a pro. you on the right track i bet that NL is killer dial it in and get it to look like this,
https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/330370-whos-got-fostiest-buds-lets-263.html#post8952955

genetics are only half the battle the other half is being a good grower and knowledgeable. fancy label and big boxes just make it easier on those that know less.

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AMEN!! my ak-48 makes you want to build a car, a house and light a campfire to fininish the day,,, It may be something normal in the hands of a gross grower.. but put that baby inmy hands, i am fourth gen farmer.. I KNOW HOW TO MAKE CORN< WHEAT, SOYBEANS.. THIS AN'T HARD,, I can mix my nutes,, I buy from the feed meill.. HA HA LOL//

Beeve said:

Hi there- when we look for growth pattern for example, the obvious trait is rapid vertical growth. Are there plants that have rapid lateral growth too, or does that only come to play once you top the cola. I've tried to keep lights close to the top of the plants, in hopes to slow down vertical growth, but it had no effect lateral growth. It was like the plant stayed shorter, but Rock solid sturdy.

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Theres definitely strains that tend to have more lateral growth, like bubba kush. its when the top just stops at a short height because the internodes are shorter. its just genetic. really the majority of it is genetics. its like people; some kids are smart, and some arent

I would Order TGA genetics from Hempdepot only 80 a ten pack. 8 bucks a seed aint shit esp when you pick up dried buds and its sprinkling crysltals

Beeve said:

Wow! Thanks guys for all your great tips! That's the info I was looking for. I studied chem in college, so researching and charting growth is a piece of cake to me. But identifying the variables that need to be observed was my stumbling block.

The grow I have going is simply to test my lil professional room. I wanted to get some plants going and not spend a ton of cash just yet. I wanted to make sure my environment will optimize the growing cycles of the plants. So far- i'd say I'm doing pretty good- you can check out my grow journal.

Yeah- I hope the NL's pull off some half decent buds. I'll be sure to check out more forum posts on good genetics, but without a $200 price tag. I don't mind spending some $$, but I also don't trust half the newbs in here for their "advanced" genetics assessment on strains. Because we all know- it ain't hard growing, but it is hard growing good potency as kite high mentioned...

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Hey breeders....have y'all noticed any correlation between plants that start flowering quicker and plants that finish faster? Like say if I had 10 thai seeds, germ them all the same, 12/12 from seed...wondering cuz am considering breeding, using 12/12 from seed and for first couple cycles would like to select purely for early finish before worrying bout other factors, hopefully eventually breeding them to an indica several generations down the line...be helpful if could estimate which would mature faster based on early flowering characteristics

The problem for me with the introduction of indica into the sativa line is the high gets dumbed down and loses its magic upbeat trippy high...not worth it to finish early IMO

i agree with most, poly, kite, and few other. good info. you dont need to spend big money to get good genetics though.

LadyZandra said:

Tying can achieve the same (or better in some strains) results as topping... less stress and keeping the dominant cola and the flowering hormones stored there-- just tying it and all the other branches down as far as possible in all directions out away from the center. As they veg- the center fills in with new colas and all the tied branches bend up toward the light and the internodal "suckers" become colas as well... we have some now with 14-16 colas just from tying them...
YES- they look hacked & run over when 1st really tied hard- but they bounce right back in a matter of days...

And I agree-- too many people removing fan leaves to let light on the buds--- you can push em out of the way, but don't remove them-- Fans are what do the photosynthesis that feeds the plant... removing the Fans is like turning down the lights or lowering their feed... Unless they are under the canopy & not receiving light or damaged-- they should be left alone IMO.

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LST is more stressful than topping....

Never understood the term low stress training as it is very stressful for a plant to be forced against the natural order regardless of technique or method , then comes the term super crop and lollipop . I still get a kick out of these newer terms as they are funny sounding and not really accurate in a botanical sense .

I simply select a bushy flowering plant and reveg her as a new mother plant. Something with tons of foliage and strong branches. I don't have a big mother room so I keep her under low light and take lots of clones whenever my state-limits allow it. Ummmmm... let's see; I don't know, you can get amazing genetics from bagseed - after all - commercial growers usually pick good hearty strains to grow and sell. I'm currently working with 6 strains from seeds I found in 2008; pretty exciting to bring them back to life. Taking two as mother plants Okay, GL have fun!

Sannies seeds, cheap, awesome.

PeakseedsBC, cheap, awesome.

The list goes on, but they stand out to me. Peak is especially cheap considering you can buy fairly true breeding seeds from him that would be very suitable for breeding and are very good quality.

Sannie similarly has a lot of great potential breeding material for cheap. You should note that breeding material is the kind of thing a lot of other vendors don't release for many reasons. Easy to replicate true breeding strains, takes more work to stabilize etc. He also has some really outstanding F1 crosses. Check out my Sugar Punch smoke report. It's the kind of thing you can expect.

In the end, you need to do thorough research yourself on everything you're interested in. Check out breeders descriptions and such, but don't swear by them because quite frankly there are a lot of shady cats in the game.

Sannie and Peak both have outstanding customer service and the descriptions are accurate and the pictures legit.

BC Bud Depot for example rips off other peoples pictures and slaps big names on random genetics in an attempt to make bucks dishonestly. You might still get good plants from them, but I'm not sure they're an outfit worth supporting. Not to pick on them (well maybe a little, they also ripped off a strain whose creator demanded be given away to anyone who wanted it for free called Free Leonard), but they're a pretty good example of a middle ground.

Doggies nuts is a good example of someone attempting to blatantly rip you off.

In the end research is always going to be your best option. And take everyones opinions with grains of salt because quite frankly some are a lot more valid than others for all sorts of reasons. Level of education, experience, conflicts of interest, indica lover vs sativa lover etc etc etc etc.

BustinScales510 said:

Learning how to clone consistently and successfully plays a big part in pheno hunting,take clones of everything before you flower. As far as genetics,sure you could find something decent in bagseed or just an ordinary old school strain, but when I go through the trouble of popping packs of seeds I want to find something remarkable..not just adequate,which is more like gonna be found through breeders who use high end genetics.

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Take more than one clone too. I'd take 4 or 5 minimum. You might not have consistent success otherwise.

General rules for cloning: 80F, 90-100% RH, fresh air every day, minimal light or you will get a plant that attempts to grow without roots.

Beeve said:

ahh, okay, I get it. Double check the trait you want by following its course through multiple clones.

Luckily for me, cloning is easy. I rarely lose a clone.
So maybe once I get a seed packet, I'll try running them all out to start differentiating the traits.

I guess I have to do some homework on a good seed company, and which Strain I want. I was thinking indica, with a touch of Sativa. If it has medicinal traits- that would be good. As for size, I would prefer medium height, because I'd like to make enough for everybody, and then some! Lol

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I feel an often overlooked quality to look for is leaf shape in comparison to your particular way of gardening. longer skinnier leaves allow taller plants to develop while allowing light to penetrate the center, while wider indica type leaves makes it easier to develop an even canopy with less light wasting.

ProfessorPotSnob said:

Never understood the term low stress training as it is very stressful for a plant to be forced against the natural order regardless of technique or method , then comes the term super crop and lollipop . I still get a kick out of these newer terms as they are funny sounding and not really accurate in a botanical sense .

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Dear ProfessorPotSnob,

NOT understanding something should inspire one to gain insight, not mock what is misunderstood.

I think it's funny that you posted the above as if it were funny.

well I just dont see why more do not conform the environment to the plant rather than the plant to the environment ..I do not like supercropping as for me it slowed growth and caused "ugly" misshapen buds....as for as lollipopping why? its easier to add light down there without having to butcher the plants

OGEvilgenius said:

Take more than one clone too. I'd take 4 or 5 minimum. You might not have consistent success otherwise.

General rules for cloning: 80F, 90-100% RH, fresh air every day, minimal light or you will get a plant that attempts to grow without roots.

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Here goes a stupid question.

Then from the beginning, to help fresh cuttings root better/faster then obviously it is
better to use 2700k or lower opposed to 5000k - 6500k?

Well if you take your clones off the bottom before you flower, lollipop makes sense.
Bottom limbs clone faster anyway...

kindnug said:

Well if you take your clones off the bottom before you flower, lollipop makes sense.
Bottom limbs clone faster anyway...

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Understandable on mothers but ludicrous for the grow...I mean it just seems obvious to me the plants want to grow upwards ...provide a setup/environ that fits its natural way of growth...high ceilings and lower/side lighting...real easy to accomplish though it costs a bit more but so worth it especially in the long run and not having to manipulate the plants growth which detracts from its normal function in turn leading to increase yields in a shorter time