Cannabis genotypes

We literally live in a golden age of cannabis genetics. My hat is off to all the breeders who are putting out quality genetics for us all to enjoy. I hope to follow in their foot steps one day. The topic of today’s article is the term genotype. A cannabis genotype is the genetic blueprint for a particular cultivar. This genetic blueprint represents the potential for all phenotypes and chemotypes that a plant may exhibit when grown in a particular environment.

That sounds easy, but its not that straight forward. The cross of any two parents (or a female plant to itself) results can result in a variety of genotypes. Hybrids (often called crosses) of two cultivars can result in genotypes that have hybrid vigor. This ‘vigor’ results in progeny that grow faster and stronger than either parent and is what makes hybrids very popular.

However, this also means that a hybrid can have a LOT of variation in genotypes. The cannabis plant is far more complicated than the pea plant, but even Gregor Mendel (the father of genetics) found that pea plant hybrids always produced several different genotypes. In other words, your pack of Blue Dream x Durban Poison seeds could grow plants that look like Blue Dream, Durban Poison, a unique combination of the two, or even the parents of either of them.

For this reason I suggest cultivators who are looking for very specific traits to shop with a quality breeders who have run trials on their hybrids to understand how likely you are to get a particular genotype. Some select crosses happen to produce some very consistent progeny. A really good breeder can identify these hybrids and reproduce them consistently for our benefit.

There are piles of information we could cover here, but the moral of this short story is to expect some variation and, when you find that special plant that works well for you, take a cutting from it so that you can grow it time and again. Cuttings are just about the only way for a home grower to preserve the exact genes you desire.

What do you think, was this summary helpful?

Happy Harvests!
— The Lit Farmer —

Published by Eric

Lit Naturals founder, Eric McSwain, serves as Chairman of the Board for the Missouri Cannabis Industry Association. He is also a certified caregiver and patient. Eric's wife is also a caregiver and he also mentors several other caregivers in the state of Missouri. Eric's passion is for educating patients in the use of cannabis as well as at-home cultivation.