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Pheno Hunting
Hello everyone! I was meaning to get this up last night but I got a little busy and didn’t get it completed. I have been researching the process behind Pheno hunting and selecting mothers. To make this easier I have separated this into 2 parts.
Part 1
Pheno hunting is the process of narrowing down a selected strain for the dominant genetic features expressed from a specific plant. When looking at selecting a specific Pheno from a group the same seeds there is a selection of traits looked at to choose the best and strongest mother (or father) plants. In the early growth phase of seedling to later Veg some of the best traits to be monitoring are:
-Root Development
-Node Spacing
-Vigor
-Vegetative Growth and Development
-Branching
These features expressed are critical to picking a strong mother.
Part 2
We know Veg growth is very important but so is the end product. If you have an incredibly strong plant all through Veg that produces poorly come flower time then it’s not a trait you want to keep. Allowing each plant to grow from seed to harvest with a cure and test smoke will help you determine which is best for you. Before sending the plants into flower it’s important to take a clone, mark it and get it rooted before flowering. Once in flower mode the next process of the Pheno Hunt begins. Paying attention to the development of the plants buds and growth duration. After successfully growing your plant from seed to harvest it’s important to give it a dry and smoke test before doing a final selection. This will help ensure you have found the highest potential from your group to select your mother from. A few traits to keep an eye on are:
-Bud Development
-Appearance
-Smell
-Yield
-Taste
-Potency
If all the boxes are checked and your happy with the smoke and look then you have found your keeper! Toss away your other plants and begin a dedicated mother plant of your specially selected gem!
This here is how I will be going about selecting my mothers to keep around for years to come. Once I have selected and started my special mothers they will remain in Veg state as a bonsai mother.
I hope this helps you in some way if you decide to do a Pheno Hunt of your own someday. It’s quite simple really as long as your paying attention to your plants and monitoring their lifecycle you will do great!
If there’s anything you can add to this that I may have missed or forgotten please feel free! I’m still new at this pheno hunting thing and I’m up for learning whatever I can!
and Stay Medicated
