The true boom in the creation of more productive marijuana seeds came with breeding processes. This is when breeders began selecting, crossing, and stabilizing different genetics over several generations, always with the goal of increasing their yielding capacity.
This was made possible thanks to hybrid seeds, which are strains born from the crossbreeding of two different genotypes. For decades, cannabis was classified into two major subtypes, commonly known as indica and sativa.
Marijuana hybrids are genetics created by crossing two or more parent strains from these subtypes to combine the best of both worlds to achieve genetic improvements. In other words, breeding is aimed at enhancing desirable traits, such as increasing the yield of the resulting strain.
When a team of breeders begins a breeding process, there’s usually a predetermined goal in mind. By crossing two strains (or backcrossing the same variety to emphasize certain traits or stabilize its genetics), cannabis breeders aim to fix or enhance characteristics which are highly appreciated by users, such as:
- Aroma and flavor (terpene profile)
- Effect (cannabinoid profile)
- Specific morphology (adapted to a region's conditions)
- Growing traits: vigor, productivity, resistance to pests or fungi
- Fast flowering time: Perfect examples of this are fast or autoflowering seeds.
- A good calyx-to-leaf ratio
One of the traits most sought-after by expert seed bank breeders is the high yielding potential of these strains. This is a characteristic that has undoubtedly increased over time thanks to the skill of these breeders, who have successfully selected phenotypes that were showing greater productivity.
So much so that nowadays, the volume, shape, and density of cannabis buds are far different from the flowers that came from countries like Mexico or Colombia in the 1960s. The flowers used back then, before the arrival of hybrids, had lower cannabinoid content and a much lower calyx-to-leaf ratio.
Flowers were thin and much smaller, unlike today’s voluminous buds, which can be as dense as rocks and frosted with bright trichomes.
Part of this difference is also due to the growing conditions, as techniques, equipment, and nutrients have also been perfected. But, without a doubt, the main factor in this evolution lies in genetic improvement. At Seedstockers, we take this work very seriously so we can offer the best high yield seeds.
