The Cannabis Breeder's Bible (21 page)

The other factor you should know about is that the original MTF is only available in clone format. There are no seeds because the original creator of this strain did not release seeds onto the market. The original creator of this strain probably found a good mother plant and did not true breed her traits because there was no need to do so if the clone format was the only release he or she was going to do. The original propagation of the strain took place in the Matanuska-Suisitna Valley, and was done in clone format. Since then many breeders have tried to replicate the strain by breeding more Indica into the plant. I have heard many people claim that there is now a version of MTF called MT on the market. I have seen this strain and it appears to be a new hybrid version of MTF. It is more Indica in appearance and contains no visible traces of Ruderalis, although it does have a hint of some auto-flowering properties.

This is nearly always the case with successful clones. Since clones do not require any homozygous breeding the breeder who wishes to continue the strain via cloning will have to work very hard to stabilize a hybrid strain of it. One possible way of doing this is to find one of the parent plants that the MTF came from. The parent could then be used in a backcross to create seeds that resemble the original MTF mother plant with some variations. The breeder could then try to lock down the traits that most represent the original clone mother. It appears that there are many breeders out there who are working on such clone strains. Some of the most famous clone plants known to growers around the world are:

Always be aware of the fact that when you buy bud from these strains and find seeds, these did not come from the clone’s original father. The seeds will more than likely come from a hybrid version of the clone or even worse, the clone may have been selfed to produce hermaphrodite seeds.
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13

THE BREEDING LAB

A BREEDING LAB CAN BE BUILT just like a basic grow room, as discussed in
The Cannabis Grow Bible.
In order to grow out 100 offspring you will need provisions for this, such as an outdoor field or a very large basement. This can be hard to manage especially if you are working in small living quarters or do not have the funds to generate a proper breeding lab. You will have to work this out for yourself, but maybe you would be interested in learning how a commercial breeding lab is set up.

In order to create a laboratory that operates well you will need to take a few things into account. Safety is foremost, followed by cleanliness and the general setup. A correctly designed breeding lab will help you to maintain a cleaner breeding project and develop produce to meet high standards.

Always start small and work your way up. There is no need to spend vast sums of money on a lab that is not going to be used. Working double space is the best. If you have over 50 plants growing at any one time, then double that area to allow you room to work in. You may have to install walls to separate different areas. You are going to need a flowering room and a vegetative grow room. A simple shelf will work well for seedling propagation. You will also need a small clone cabinet and a storage area for your grow materials and tools.

Your breeding lab should be isolated from any popular avenues and no outside contamination should be able to enter the room. You should have sufficient electrical inputs and outputs, mounted and sealed and away from any wet areas. The room’s temperature should be controlled with thermostats and the floor should have a drainage point for any spills that may occur. You will need a sink, a drain and some work lights for yourself. Ventilation should also be installed. Prefab constructions are very popular these days and you might want to invest your time looking at the various prefab construction options on the market. If you live in a country where marijuana cultivation is legal then there may be some health and safety regulations that you need to follow, especially with domestic electrical junction boxes and safety trip switches.

Indoor mother plant breeding room by Paradise Seeds.

The floor should be made from concrete, not wood. The concrete should be covered with white tiles so that dirt and dust can easily be seen. Windows should be properly sealed and only opened if there is no risk of contamination from external influences. Air-conditioning should be a major part of your design. Avoiding contamination is important because contamination, including pest contamination, causes 60% of all breeding project failures. 38% is caused by bad growing techniques and 2% is caused by genetic problems with the plants. Contamination can cost you money and time, so prevention is better than cure.

A complex ducting of air cooling tubes for three HID lights. Photograph by Alan.

Walls and floors should be regularly swept and cleaned. It’s best to develop a cleaning routine and have a checklist that shows that you have been maintaining the cleaning standards on your schedule. Shoes should be removed before entering the breeding room. Walls are best painted using urethane epoxy wall paint or acrylic of the flat white type.

The entrance to your breeding lab should not be near the breeding project but rather closer to your tools and workbench. The breeding lab and grow room should be the furthest point away from the entrance and exit to this room to avoid contamination.

Fire safety is also a must, especially where grow lights and plants are concerned. You should have a fire extinguisher nearby and a fire blanket on standby. You may also need a temporary generator to supplement your breeding room with electricity during periods of blackouts or brownouts. A freezer will be an important tool if you choose to deep-freeze seeds and pollen.

Chemicals should be kept in a cool unit and away from any electrical items. They should be stored by following the guidelines on the bottles. All plant foods and chemicals should be thrown out when they reach their sell-by date.

Pyrex-type glass utensils are best purchased instead of glass materials because they are harder to break and easier to clean.

Outdoor mother plant breeding patch by Paradise Seeds.

Here are a few additional tips and pointers to help you out:

1. Always remove dead plant tissue that falls onto the floor or soil. Some people may leave it on the soil saying that it will work as compost. This is true, but it will always attract unwanted pests.

2. Watch out for hermaphrodite plants. Any male pollen sacks that develop on a female can potentially pollinate that female and others around it if the pollen is viable. The seeds will mostly be hermaphrodite with some females and possibly some males. This will seriously compromise your breeding project if it goes by unnoticed.

3. CO
₂
enrichment will help produce better plants and higher yields. CO
₂
comes in compressed tanks. Be careful when working with CO
₂
and follow instructions about CO
₂
storage carefully.

4. Label your plants, clones, seeds and tissue culture. Forgetting to label your work will only result in work data being lost. Make sure that you label everything.

5. Always make a routine of visiting your grow room everyday. Check your plants for bugs as often as you can. Pay visits to your plants because they like to be visited. Plants are living things and should be treated that way.

6. Always circulate fresh air into your breeding room whenever possible. Plants thrive in fresh air.

7. Tidy up loose ends. Your breeding room is not your garage or tool shed. Make sure that you clean out your pots after use and throw away soil that has already provided for a plant. Reusing soil is never a good idea because it is full of roots and minerals that you have added to your grow. Always start fresh with new soil for a new grow. Soil is generally the cheapest part of your grow.

8. Sterilize your equipment on a regular basis.

9. Keep logs of your work. You will always need to look back on your notes during your breeding program.

Paradise Seeds maintain several breeding rooms for different strains.

14

PRODUCT TESTING AND THE CUSTOMER

THE TIME WILL COME WHEN YOU WILL HAVE TO TEST your product before you release it onto the market. Product testing is very easy to do and just requires a bit of logic and time on your part. A 90% germination rate is an acceptable level and one that the consumer wants. Anything lower than 70% and the consumer will not be happy because 1/4 of your produce did not work out. Out of 200 seeds, 10 or so may not be viable. If the germination rates are lower than this you must reconsider your seed production, harvesting and storage techniques.

When you produce a batch of seeds from a single female plant you should label the seeds to show which mother they came from. Out of 200 seeds you should test 10-15 of the seeds for yourself before releasing the others onto the market. If you achieve 90% germination rates then you are doing well. If you reach 80% then maybe your technique could be better. If you go below 70%, again, you have a problem. If the seeds do well then you should release them onto the market, but make sure that you keep track of each order and which female plant the seeds came from. If a customer complains you should take note of the complaint. If more than one customer complains then you should consider removing your stock and replacing it with newly tested stock. Even in today’s market the top breeders sometimes make mistakes and have to pull their line from the market. Too much bad publicity will only inhibit your sales. It is best to pull the seeds from the market and replace them with new ones.