Episode 12: Cannabis Genetics

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  Agrify Team

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July 8, 2020

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Max < 1 minute read

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    Cannabis Genetics

    On this episode of Agrify Live, Agrify’s VP & Head of Horticulture and Customer Success, David Kessler, discusses cannabis genetics, pheno-hunting, and genetic selection, with special guest, Miles Durham. Miles is a grower and genetic expert who is currently working with Greenstone out of Colorado.

     

    Tips about Cannabis Genetics:

    • It is important to do research: know your breeders, how they formed, who they partnered with, the history, where they breed, and how they breed.
    • The United States is in the middle of a “genetic renaissance.”

    Vegetative Traits:

    • Phenotypes are the genetic expression specific to grow and custom to the environment.
    • Genotypes are traits that stem from DNA or the genetic makeup of the plant.
    • Pheno-hunting is sifting through seeds to look for traits the grower needs to cultivate.
    • The more seeds, the higher chance of getting the strain with the phenotypes the breeder wants.
    • If you top your plant earlier, there is a better chance the plant shows sex organs faster, especially if it is topped and grown in the same environment.
    • Breeders want females for further production.
    • Males give information, but they are not equipped for mass production like females are.

    Flowering Traits:

    • The three pillars breeders want flowers to express are trichome saturation (potency), terpene profile, and yield.
    • Stress tests are vital for mass production (temperature, lifecycle, water). Run the test three times (three generations) so the plant stabilizes and does not herm.
    • The herm trait is when the plant grows male “balls” or “bananas”.
      • Balls look like two lobster claws coming from the plant.
      • Bananas look like bananas and produce pollen.
      • We do not want pollen, that’s why we eliminate male flowers!
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