The Cannabis Breeder's Bible Read Online Free PDF Page B

same IBL (inbred line). Even if the two plants are not IBLs, they should produce seeds that contain most of the parents’ features. If you want to create a plant with characteristics from two different strains, breeding the marijuana from seed is your only option. That is the subject of this chapter, which begins with an introduction to simple breeding procedures and then goes on to cover advanced techniques like breeding a true strain and backcrossing.

    MAKING SEEDS
    How easy is it to make seeds? It’s easy if you have healthy plants and a stable growing environment. When your male plants burst their pollen sacks in your grow room they’ll pollinate the female flowers. You can also administer pollen directly to your females if you prefer.

    COLLECTING AND STORING POLLEN
    Pollen can be extracted from male flowers as soon as they open: you’ll see the male flower open out from its calyx. It is best to gather pollen after it falls from the pod onto the leaves. You can shake the pollen onto the female flowers to pollinate them or grow your males separately and store their pollen for future use.
     
    Film canisters are great for storing pollen. You can save pollen in a canister for the next harvest. Although it can be stored in the freezer for as long as 18 months, pollen is best used within six months of collection. Pollen has been known to keep for longer than 18 months, but is usually not viable past this time.

    COLLECTING AND STORING SEEDS
    If you have pollinated your plants, at the end of the flowering stage the bud will contain seeds. The seeds should be gray, tan or dark brown in color. They may also be striped, banded or lined with different colored markings. If they are pale cream or white in color, then they are probably not viable and you have harvested them too early. You should wait until the end of flowering to harvest your seeds.
     
    Your seeds will be mixed in with the bud and it can take quite a bit of time to separate them from their sticky calyx pods. Do not squeeze the calyx directly because you can damage the seed inside. Just tease the seed out from the calyx with your fingers. If you do not want the bud you can brush a seeded flowering branch against some fabric or a sieve to release the seeds from their respective calyx pods. It is easier to remove seeds from dry, cured bud than from freshly harvested plants.
     
    If you plan to use the seeds in more than two years’ time, store them in an airtight container and place this in a freezer. If you plan to use the seeds within the next two years, storing them in a standard film canister or similar container will work well. Keep this canister away from heat and direct light and do not let it get damp or you risk spoiling your seeds. Containers placed in the freezer should not be opened until you are ready to use them. Allow the seeds to thaw at room temperature for at least 12 hours before use.

    SIMPLE BREEDING
    Your approach to breeding will depend on what you ultimately hope to achieve. Do you want to create a new strain, create seeds that are similar to the parents, or cross two plants to create a simple hybrid strain?

    CONTINUING A STRAIN THROUGH SEEDS
    Say you purchased $120 worth of Silver Haze seeds and you want to make more seeds without any interference from another strain. That’s easy. Just make sure that the male and female plants you breed with are from the same strain batch. In this instance the same strain batch would be Silver Haze from the same breeder. If you use Silver Haze from different breeders then the offspring may express a great deal of variation. This is because most breeders create their own versions of a popular strain. Their variety may have dissimilar characteristics from those of other breeders who have bred the same strain.
     
    If you only have Silver Haze from the same breeder in your grow room, then all you need are a group of males and a group of females. Let the males pollinate the females and you will get more