Want to know a few details about breeding cannabis? Do you know the difference between regular and feminized seeds? Have you ever heard of S1, F1 or F2? Do you have any idea what that means? A few months ago I had the chance to connect with Compound Genetics in Portland, Oregon, and was lucky enough to sit down with them and talk a little bit about different breeding methods and some commonly used terms.
High Times: Can you explain what F1 and F2 are when it comes to hybridizing cannabis?
Cannabis Breeding Explained, F1 and F2
Anyone who has ever bought seeds may see several markings on the packaging next to the genetics information. F1, F2 and IBL are 3 designations that tell a lot about a plant. Consider what they mean to expand your cannabis breeding vocabulary. F1 is the first generation, F2 is the second and IBL stands for inbred lines.
Crossing CannabisGenetics F1 and F2 Generations In common with premium orchids and roses, Cannabis seed varieties are bred and crossbred by botanists to create new breeds of Cannabis with different characteristics.
What is “F”?
There are different types of hybrid seeds such as F1, F2, F3……. First figure out what that letter “F” means. F stands for phillia. It is a Latin word, which means daughter.
F1 – F1 are the first generation of hybrid seeds produced by a hybridization process of two different varieties of the same type of plant which inherit the best characteristics of both plants. For example: The new hybrid seed is produced by the hybridization of two different types of tomato plants.
S1, feminized cannabis seeds
The acronym S1 refers to the first filial generation produced by crossing the plant with itself. This is achieved with a series of techniques aimed at inverting the sex of the selected female plant, making it produce male pollen and using it to self-pollinate. If done correctly, we get feminized offspring with the same genotype as the parent used.
As always in genetics, the more stable the parent, the more stable the offspring will be. This technique can also be used like a regular backcross, selecting and fixing strokes but starting with only one parent. Thus, we can find seeds S2 or S3, which have been backcrossed with the original parent. Examples of S1 are Tropimango (Philosopher Seeds), S.A.D. (Sweet Seeds) or Trainweck (greenhouse).