Growing Males For Seeds

[JoetheChro]

Hey 420sphere

Has anyone got any experience of growing males for seeds?

Have read a lot on breeding, don’t want to get too technical yet, would like to see if i can get viable seeds for growing later on (vaguely remember seeing colloidal silver being brushed onto pollen/seed sacks a few years ago, don’t know if there’s any new science)

But as i said, nothing too technical just any recommendations for growing males much appreciated

 

[013]

Seeds come from females that have been pollinated….pollen comes from males or female plants that have been reversed

edit to add: female can self pollinate as last ditch survival effort but it’s a hermie and seeds from this scenario generally carry same hermie trait

 

[JoetheChro]

Seeds come from females that have been pollinated….pollen comes from males or female plants that have been reversed

Thank you.

 

[JoetheChro]

So how would I grow my own plant that produces seeds?

 

[Sparkey224]

Select a Male.
Flower him out on 12/12 in a different location. If i remember, usually takes 40 days for him to drop pollen.
Collect the pollen and dust it to your female when shes is around 21-28 days in flowering. Usually, 40 days later you will have some seeds.
In a nut shell. Hope that helps

 

[JoetheChro]

Select a Male.
Flower him out on 12/12 in a different location. If i remember, usually takes 40 days for him to drop pollen.
Collect the pollen and dust it to your female when shes is around 21-28 days in flowering. Usually, 40 days later you will have some seeds.
In a nut shell. Hope that helps

Nutshell was what I needed GG

Just needed that first step, now the journey can begin

 

[Joe Brewster]

Nutshell was what I needed GG

Just needed that first step, now the journey can begin

That is if you want regular seeds (Male & female) & to cross strains
if you want all female seeds you have to reverse sex a female with colloidal silver or STS ( Silver Thiosulfate) use the pollen from reversed plant to pollenate another female

 

[pignguy]

How To Reverse Sex Using Silver Thiosulfate Solution

The following is a safe, inexpensive, and successful method for reversing the sex of female cannabis plants. Individual plant responses may vary based upon strain, but I can verify that this process is fully effective in stimulating profuse staminate flower production. This process can be used...

www.420magazine.com

 

[cbdhemp808]

Select a Male.
Flower him out on 12/12 in a different location. If i remember, usually takes 40 days for him to drop pollen.
Collect the pollen and dust it to your female when shes is around 21-28 days in flowering. Usually, 40 days later you will have some seeds.
In a nut shell. Hope that helps

Keep in mind that all males are autoflower plants. Males will flower without any elaborate lighting scheme – they just need enough light to grow. That's my understanding. It's best to contain your males in some kind of enclosure, like a grow tent, to keep pollen from getting out into the world. Pollen can travel on the wind for miles, and nobody wants their precious buds pollinated by random pollen in the wind.

The simplest way to obtain males is to buy regular seed, not feminized seed. If you bought 10 seeds of your favorite strain, as regular seed, and they all spouted and grew into plants, about half would be males. Once you have your pollen, you can then hand-pollinate a female of that same strain, or a different strain. Pollen can remain viable for a long time in the freezer.

happy growing!

 

[Sparkey224]

Keep in mind that all males are autoflower plants. Males will flower without any elaborate lighting scheme – they just need enough light to grow. That's my understanding. It's best to contain your males in some kind of enclosure, like a grow tent, to keep pollen from getting out into the world. Pollen can travel on the wind for miles, and nobody wants their precious buds pollinated by random pollen in the wind.

The simplest way to obtain males is to buy regular seed, not feminized seed. If you bought 10 seeds of your favorite strain, as regular seed, and they all spouted and grew into plants, about half would be males. Once you have your pollen, you can then hand-pollinate a female of that same strain, or a different strain. Pollen can remain viable for a long time in the freezer.

happy growing!

Never heard of males being Autos. Cant be true, no disrespect. Males definitely have a shorter flowering time. If males were autos, it would be past down to the females as well. It wouldn't be past down just for the males.
The males ive flowered out takes 40-55 days max.

I agree with finding them a secondary home in a tent to prevent pollen going everywhere

 

[Mudballs]

Photoperiod males from seed flower at maturity no matter what the light cycle is. They do not carry the gene that autos(ruderalis) carries but the definition of autoflowering plant still applies, a flowering plant that is day neutral
You can reveg them after flowering, i finally saw that and now reveg male clones pretty consistently, but ive never been able to "veg" a male until i want it to flower like our fems...males auto flower

 

[Mudballs]

Furthermore i hesitantly offer the following regarding pollen traveling

I have played with one of the online 3d plume modeling sites and if push comes to shove i could probably mythbuster the idea pollen from the avg male in a garden isnt as much a danger "miles away"
Please everyone consider contaminant drop rate, length a pollen grain can stay aloft...obstacles...guys, to endanger a garden "miles" away i would have to grow a fkn monster male...to get over and around trees, fences, car traffic shifting winds, more houses. Think about how much is in-between the female a "mile" away and all the obstacles that grain of pollen must perfectly route. Next time you get in ur car remem that thread and muballs then record in ur mind a grain of pollen at hip height going 1 mile...its comical ladies and gentlemen...Pixar would have to write the story.please i mean this with utmost respect and educational intent, a mile is nigh impossible without a massive source of pollen dumping enormous amounts every second for endless days to finally have the plume reach 1 mile downwind. Risking my rep here..glad we dont have a rep system

 

[Dwight Monk]

Pollen travels on insects/animals, some of which can travel long distances in a day one would think, busy bees and like. Wouldn't pollinate a whole plant but could do some of it. I know OR was having issues with outdoor grows being pollinated by Hemp farms, but no idea on the distances but heard it enough from various folks it must have been an issue.

 

[Mudballs]

Most definitely a variable my post does not address. I have a video of a male worker bee absolutely loaded with pollen. See if i can find it

Yes, this guy can travel miles and hit a female....im not sure the validity of him prefering to hit a fem rather than go back to hive.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Never heard of males being Autos. Cant be true, no disrespect. Males definitely have a shorter flowering time. If males were autos, it would be past down to the females as well. It wouldn't be past down just for the males.
The males ive flowered out takes 40-55 days max.

I know it's crazy, but it's true (with some exceptions). Males don't pass down this trait.

See HERE.

 

[Pat Puffer]

I have done some extensive breeding. My process would be to grow out regular seeds and select males that displayed admirable traits such a stalk thickness and node spacing.

Once the males were found I would let them grow to near maturity where they are almost dropping pollen. I would chop the top(s) and place in a shot glass of water and set the shot glass on a picture frame; all under a small CFL to keep them alive.

The male top still continues on as if nothing has happened to it. Once the top(s) drop their pollen I would scrape it up with a razor blade and place in a small paper bindle folded up origami like to keep it sealed.

I would allow the pollen in the paper bindle to rest in ambient house temperature to allow excess moisture to be removed and wicked away. I would then place in a pill bottle with desiccant packets to continue the drying.

Then I would place in the freezer. I have saved and used viable pollen in this manner that was 8 months old at least. It doesn't last forever, and I don't know where the cut off point is.

Once I had a female that was displaying admirable traits as mentioned above I would send it in to flower. 2 weeks in to flower I pull a single bindle out and place in the fridge.

Slow acclimation to ambient temps are crucial. If the pollen bindle warms up too quickly condensation can form on the inside of the bindle rendering the pollen useless.

Then I would use a tiny plastic container for beads with a lid to place the pollen in. These are found at the local hobby store. Then I would use my favorite paint brush and dust the particular bud I wanted to pollinate.

Yeah, it isn't the most careful method as far as the pollination goes. Some rogue pollen will inevitably drift and get on other buds. It never totally ruined a plant and once the pistils are seem to curl back brown, pollination was a success.

Let the buds go for another 4-6 weeks and the seeds are ready for harvest; presto. You just became a pollen chucker.

 

[cbdhemp808]

@Pat Puffer, super helpful, thanks! It looks like I have a couple very nice sativa males developing, and I've been thinking how to deal with them. Your method is an excellent way to keep the pollen contained. FYI, I've heard that pollen in the freezer will last (at least?) 18 months. Also, is it a good idea to spray down the female with water after successful pollination? How long does that take?

 

[Pat Puffer]

Ehh, I never did spray them down. I was always deathly afraid of my bud's getting wet. Come to find out they can take a lot.

I would allow at least 12 hours after painting the bud.

I would also roll the pollen around in the container to get it to coat the container. This way there would be less errant pollen flying around.

A light misting is all that is necessary. I read Cervantes' encyclopedia and supposedly it happens immediately, so in theory only hours would be all one has to wait.

There is a type of proboscis the pollen grain sends out upon contact with the bract and penetrates it's proverbial "ovum" and pollinates it almost immediately. Now I haven't seen evidence of this, nor was there photos to depict this act. I just gotta take the man for his word.

I also believe that pollen grains themselves become null after 7 days, so the whole process is on a time clock. I could be incorrect about that, but I wouldn't leave the pollen on the mirror for anymore than a day or two given the other processes that have to take place...IF you are going to freeze and store it.

If the male tops drop more, scrape up more and repeat the process.

Yes, this is a fantastic way to harvest pollen away from your flowering room and it's ladies.

 

[Mikedin]

I have done some extensive breeding. My process would be to grow out regular seeds and select males that displayed admirable traits such a stalk thickness and node spacing.

Once the males were found I would let them grow to near maturity where they are almost dropping pollen. I would chop the top(s) and place in a shot glass of water and set the shot glass on a picture frame; all under a small CFL to keep them alive.

The male top still continues on as if nothing has happened to it. Once the top(s) drop their pollen I would scrape it up with a razor blade and place in a small paper bindle folded up origami like to keep it sealed.

I would allow the pollen in the paper bindle to rest in ambient house temperature to allow excess moisture to be removed and wicked away. I would then place in a pill bottle with desiccant packets to continue the drying.

Then I would place in the freezer. I have saved and used viable pollen in this manner that was 8 months old at least. It doesn't last forever, and I don't know where the cut off point is.

Once I had a female that was displaying admirable traits as mentioned above I would send it in to flower. 2 weeks in to flower I pull a single bindle out and place in the fridge.

Slow acclimation to ambient temps are crucial. If the pollen bindle warms up too quickly condensation can form on the inside of the bindle rendering the pollen useless.

Then I would use a tiny plastic container for beads with a lid to place the pollen in. These are found at the local hobby store. Then I would use my favorite paint brush and dust the particular bud I wanted to pollinate.

Yeah, it isn't the most careful method as far as the pollination goes. Some rogue pollen will inevitably drift and get on other buds. It never totally ruined a plant and once the pistils are seem to curl back brown, pollination was a success.

Let the buds go for another 4-6 weeks and the seeds are ready for harvest; presto. You just became a pollen chucker.

I like this method, all my bud is mine anyways finding a seed would be a bonus is it’s one her and there I’d be fine to keep growing out my same genetics lol

 

[Azimuth]

I tried it and pollinated a small plant (all flowers). Ended up with more than 500 seeds, way more than I will ever use. Pretty incredible how many seeds from that small plant. Now I know why breeders often only paint a bud or two.