Sexual and asexual reproduction of cannabis

There are two basics type of plant reproduction: sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. Making seeds is known as sexual reproduction. Cloning is known as asexual reproduction.

Сlones will help increase the number of cannabis buds

First, we need to say a few things about the cannabis strain market. Growers who want to produce large quantities of buds choose clones and not seeds as their source of propagation. This is because clones carry the same sex as the parent plant from which the cutting was taken. Clones flower more quickly too. This means that a grower can keep clones in his grow room and constantly repeat a harvest of the same female plant(s) over and over again.

Gardeners Preserve the Best female cannabis plant

Because a clone will carry the same genetic material as the parent plant the clone was taken from, the grower does not have to worry about variations in the plants, as they would with seeds from a hybrid strain. In a population of cannabis plants, propagated from seed, a grower will find a good female that appears to have performed better than all the others. The grower will usually keep this plant by cloning it and growing it out into a population of clones that all retain the exact same desired characteristics as that special plant they started with, as long as similar growing conditions are maintained or improved upon. New hybrids and strains do not always faithfully repeat themselves in the offspring through seeds (sexual reproduction) or cannot faithfully repeat themselves in the offspring because the genetic recombination of the parent plants will only result in hidden traits emerging and previously revealed traits disappearing.

New cannabis hybrids

New hybrids contain variations and sometimes these variations can affect traits that the grower wants to keep. In order to create a hybrid that is uniform, so that its seeds produce very uniform populations, the breeder must learn breeding techniques. Eventually, a breeder will be able to stabilize the strain so that all of its offspring are very uniform in growth and the grower does not need to take cuttings or clones because the strain will be consistent in seed form. Why bother creating uniform strains from seed? Why not deal in clones?