How does pollen travel?

I have male plants growing in one backyard and female plants growing in a different backyard. It’s a short drive between the two houses and I’m just wondering if the pollen will stick to my clothes and travel to my precious female garden. Hopefully changing my clothes will prevent and pollen from travelling between gardens.
If anybody has any experience with this type of situation I would love to hear about it.
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
I have male plants growing in one backyard and female plants growing in a different backyard. It’s a short drive between the two houses and I’m just wondering if the pollen will stick to my clothes and travel to my precious female garden. Hopefully changing my clothes will prevent and pollen from travelling between gardens.
If anybody has any experience with this type of situation I would love to hear about it.
Changing your clothes and washing your hands is always recommended, but outdoors, you've got wind, bees, insects etc that can all deliver pollen over long distances.
 

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
I have male plants growing in one backyard and female plants growing in a different backyard. It’s a short drive between the two houses and I’m just wondering if the pollen will stick to my clothes and travel to my precious female garden. Hopefully changing my clothes will prevent and pollen from travelling between gardens.
If anybody has any experience with this type of situation I would love to hear about it.
Pollen can go a really long way outdoor. If you are growing to produce pollen, you really dont need to do it outdoors.... a very small tent is enough to produce enough pollen to make more seeds than you could ever grow.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
The pollen can travel in the air. Changing your clothes when going between gardens is a good idea or just visit the male site after the female site. Regardless, you can't stop the wind and pollen can travel long distances.

A Preliminary Study of Pollen Dispersal in Cannabis sativa in Relation to Wind Direction
Abstract Pollen of Cannabis sativa is disseminated by wind in large amounts and for long distances, and regulations concerning the production of pedigreed seed of industrial hemp, therefore, often call for extremely large isolation distances to prevent unwanted pollination. In Europe and Canada, a standard distance of 5 km is required for the highest classes of hemp seed. This study examines the relative distribution of pollen from an isolated field over the 3-week maximum flowering period, with particular reference to wind direction. The amount of pollen distributed downwind was about six times the amount distributed upwind. In effect, this means that an isolation distance of 5 km on the downwind side is about equivalent to an isolation distance of 0.9 km on the upwind side. In theory, at the experimental site examined, the required isolation area could be reduced by about 58% while still achieving the equivalent of 5 km isolation in all directions. Given that weedy and illegally cultivated plants are widespread, making it difficult to ensure their absence over a distance of 5 km, it seems advisable, when possible, to take advantage of the considerably reduced isolation distance that is necessary on the upwind side. Pollen distribution appeared to follow the expected leptokurtic curve, reducing rapidly with initial distance from the source, but much more slowly with increasing distance. This makes it impossible to guarantee complete absence of potentially contaminating pollen in the field and, for practical purposes, a very low amount of undesired gene flow needs to be tolerated.

 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
I had a neighbor who was growing and pollinated my plants 2 houses down
It can travel pollinate plants 5-10 miles away if the wind and weather conditions are right. This is why it's always best for people who grow outside to remove all males and restrict breeding programs to indoor grows.
 
Ok i think I will bring my male plants inside. I have never set up an indoor grow before. I’m thinking just a small tent with some CFL bulbs. I’m not really sure how to set up the fans for ventilation but i should be able to figure it out
 

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Ok i think I will bring my male plants inside. I have never set up an indoor grow before. I’m thinking just a small tent with some CFL bulbs. I’m not really sure how to set up the fans for ventilation but i should be able to figure it out
Yeah its really best to not have them outside if for no other reason than to be courteous to your neighbors.
 
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