The Cannabis Breeder's Bible (5 page)

It is generally accepted by most growers that these three species can be obtained in pure form. This means that each species type can be obtained without another species influence. We must remember that historically the different species would have stemmed from the same line; however, evolution and diversity have caused these three species types to develop separately around the globe.

Normally in biology two different species should not be able to crossbreed. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. Cannabis researches and growers see the cannabis species as an exception to the rule. It is for this reason that cannabis breeders also classify their strains according to each of these species types even though mainstream botany science has only one classification for the cannabis species—Cannabis Sativa L.
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Each of these cannabis species is very unique in appearance and growth. They are also very unique in most of their properties including the high type. Each of the species types has a subset of strains that are classed as either a pure species type or a mix of the species. Due to hybridization the subset of each species looks like this:

SPECIES SUBSET TYPES

Cannabis Ruderalis is not very popular with growers because of its auto-flowering properties (
CGB,
p. 17). This means that the species does not flower according to the
photoperiod
but flowers according to age and maturity. Growers like to control the flowering properties of their plants and so breeders rarely ever use Ruderalis in breeding projects and seed banks rarely ever stock Ruderalis genetics.

It is for this reason that Indica and Sativa strains are not mixed with Ruderalis. In fact, it is now very rare to find Ruderalis strains sold by seed banks because of the strains’ unpopularity among cultivators. This means that there are truly only five types of cannabis species subsets being produced by breeders. These are: Pure Indica, Pure Sativa, Mostly Indica, Mostly Sativa and Indica/Sativa varieties.

THE CANNABIS SPECIES PROBLEM
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Because US and other legislations have made specific reference to Cannabis Sativa L. as a proscribed plant, many cannabis cultivators have turned to the use of Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis as non-proscribed cannabis species to beat the law. This has resulted in the courts having to dismiss many cases against defendants because of this technicality. R. E. Schultes of Harvard University began testifying in cases in 1972 to show that cannabis could be found in three distinctive species types. A number of respectable botanists including William A. Emboden, also testified in court as to the distinct separate species of cannabis.

In 1975, Ernest Small, while working for the “Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs” was asked to combat this problem by linking Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis as just variations of Cannabis Sativa L. and not as separate species. The debate still continues today although it is generally recognized by most cannabis researchers and growers that there are indeed three very distinct species of cannabis.

Carl von Linné (1707 – 78) or Carolus Linnaeus (Latinized version) was a Swedish botanist and founder of modern systematic botany and zoology. He devised a classification system for flowering plants based on stamen type and number of pistils, and became the authority to whom collectors all over the world sent specimens. He described over 7,000 plants, introducing binomial Latin names, although his classification was later superseded by that of Antoine Jussieu. He set out his system in
Systema Naturae
(1735) and other works which are internationally recognized as the starting points for botanical nomenclature respectively. In 1753 he recognized only one species of Cannabis—Cannabis Sativa L.

French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck (1744 – 1829) was an early proponent of organic evolution. Darwin would later draw much from his work. In 1783, Lamarck discovered Cannabis Indica by way of samples that had been sent from India to him by a man named Sonnerat. He published his findings on Cannabis Indica in 1785.

In 1924 the Russian botanist Janischevsky discovered a new species of cannabis growing in Southeastern Russia that he called Cannabis Ruderalis.

The discoveries of Lamarck and Janischevsky contradicted Linnaeus’s accepted view that cannabis was a monotypic genus—that genus being Cannabis Sativa L. However Linnaeus had not observed Cannabis Indica nor had he observed Cannabis Ruderalis.

In 1929 Russian botanist Nicolai Vavilov visited northern Afghanistan and discovered the locals cultivating Cannabis Sativa for hashish production. However, east towards the Pakistan border, Vavilov discovered Cannabis Indica in two very unique strain types which appeared to be growing wild. He named the strains Cannabis Indica Afghanica and Cannabis Indica Kafiristanica. Vavilov had discovered Cannabis Indica that was not being used for hashish production and so had found a true wild species of Cannabis Indica. It wasn’t until much later that Afghanistan began to process this species into a
cultivar
for hashish extraction. The important point is that Vavilov had found wild Cannabis Indica in 1929 and that the plant did not exhibit any traits of being a cultivar.

The term
Indian hemp
refers to any variation of cannabis that is grown in India. This included both Cannabis Sativa L. and Cannabis Indica, however early botanists sometimes found the term
hemp
confusing and often attributed only Cannabis Sativa L. to it. In fact many went so far as to claim two separate variations of the Indian hemp plant:
Cannabis Sativa L. subsp. culta
and
Cannabis Sativa L. subsp. spontanea.
The subspecies culta referred to cultivated Indian hemp and the subspecies spontanea referred to wild Indian hemp. Today breeders, growers and botanists simply treat both these types of Indian hemp as simply strain types of Sativa or Indica varieties, with cultivars tending to be more uniform in growth than wild or landrace strains.

The main problem with the cannabis species is not cannabis itself but universal discrepancies on what constitutes a species. Taxonomy does not have any clear definitions on what a species actually is. One rule is that a species should not be able to break the confines of what is called a species breeding barrier. This means that species should not be able to breed outside of themselves. Cannabis Indica, Sativa and Ruderalis are all interfertile, meaning that they can breed outside of their species barrier, among themselves, but botanists still remain uncertain as to this definition. One example is that of the horse and the donkey. These are two separate species that can interbreed, however they produce a mule, which is infertile. This led many biologists to explain that “a species consists of those populations that can breed and produce fertile offspring.” Since the mule is infertile, the horse and donkey remain two different species. The same also occurs with the ‘liger’, the offspring of a tiger and lion that produces an infertile ‘liger.’ However what also must be noted here is that the mule and the liger are artificial creations. In the wild, geographical isolation prevents this from happening. Many biologists believe that geographical isolation eventually creates a complete species breeding barrier that prevents different species from being interfertile and that what we are observing with some species interbreeding is in fact just a moment in their development that allows for interfertility but it will sooner or later become impossible as long as their isolation from one another is maintained. Cannabis Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis do not take advantage of their interfertility in the wild because of geographic isolation but they do when mankind interferes with them. This process is known as a ‘ring species.’ Salamanders are a very good example of a ‘ring species.’ Some species of salamander can interbreed while other species cannot. Other examples of a ring species include birds like the gull.

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BASIC BREEDING

IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE GROWING a strain that you enjoy, cloning is your best option. You could also continue the strain by breeding two plants to produce seeds. You won’t completely replicate the strain again using the seed method, however, unless the two parent plants are from the 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 Silver Haze seeds, but you will lose some of the features of the original parent plants unless the strain you have is an IBL or from a very stable inbred pure line.