Hermaphrodite issues !!! ???

Prawn Connery · Post by **Prawn Connery** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 12:51 pm

Yeah, a bit weird. I take it you're flowering them under 12/12? Or are they going hermy under veg light (18/6, 20/4 etc)?

When you took the clones, were the mothers flowering, or just starting to flower?

Dick Fein · Post by **Dick Fein** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:30 pm

They were mothers under 24/7 1000 watt halide, then the clones were placed under cool white LED 24/7 ,after 10 days they were rooted enough to transplant to cups, that was about a week ago and put under 600 watt halide 24/7. Maybe they need a nap now that I think about it. Female flowers are visible on the rest of the clones and one has considerable trichomes on it.

Prawn Connery · Post by **Prawn Connery** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:01 pm

Have you always kept your mothers under 24/7? The clones look a little stretchy - is it hot where you are? Light and/or heat stress perhaps?

Plants do need a dark period to transport and use sugars (starches) produced from photosynthesis. Stored starches are used for active transport of nutrients during the dark period. When there is no dark period, plants will self-regulate photosynthesis, turning on and off to compensate. It's a bit like "micro sleep" for plants. The need a couple of hours of dark at least.

I once experimented with different veg photoperiods and found the one that appeared to produce the fastest growth was 11 on/1 off. I still do it sometimes, otherwise I'm usually on 20/4 or 18/6 depending on how I want to regulate growth. Sometimes I actively slow my clones down when I have too much time in-between flowering cycles. I'll give them a light feeding regime and turn the lights down to 18/6 or sometimes 16/8, just to prevent them from flowering.

The 11/1 light trials weren't very scientific, but the difference in growth was noticeable, anecdotally.

Dick Fein · Post by **Dick Fein** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:09 am

It has been hot and I don't usually leave the light on all the time I just got lazy but since going under the 600 watt the distance from the light was the maximum I could manage so that might cause a bit of stretch plus they are mostly sativa. They definitely got some stress. I do need to slow them down so I was thinking about putting them in a fridge for a week at a time and then giving them a day or 2 of light.

Prawn Connery · Post by **Prawn Connery** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:21 am

Can't you just buy a cheap timer and set the lights for 18/6 or 16/8 and run the lights during the coolest time of day/overnight?

Dick Fein · Post by **Dick Fein** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 5:03 pm

I have timers. It was pure laziness. If I see some pollen I might mess around a little with it on my outdoor.

Oldjoints · Post by **Oldjoints** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 7:37 pm

Are you talking about using pollen from hermies? Do you really want to proliferate the hermie trait? The male is very important in the lineage and not a good parent pick if a hermaphrodite. Personally i wouldn’t.

Dick Fein · Post by **Dick Fein** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:14 pm

The one plant was flowered twice without any sign of herminess and only after extreme stress did it express that trait so I think it could be good for an outdoor seed crop. I wouldn't try to sell it to anyone or anything like that but as an experiment sure.

Oldjoints · Post by **Oldjoints** » Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:24 pm

Well it will produce fem seeds but your yield will suffer from it. If that doesn’t bother you and you just want to play then go for it. Just know that seeds that get produced could have that trait as well. That’s why most reputable seed makers employ chemical methods to produce fem seeds. Have fun......

Prawn Connery · Post by **Prawn Connery** » Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:08 am

Entirely up to you, but the easier a plant herms, the less likely I would be to use it.

A build-up of ethylene during the dark period causes plants to flower. Using colloidal silver or giberellic acid inhibits ethylene production which forces a flowering plant to develop male stamens - the techniques used to "self" a plant to produce feminised seeds.

You can see how light leaks and photoperiod now both disrupt ethylene production and that is what causes a plant to herm. That's what we mean by "light stress". It is the reason why it is the dark period - not the light period - that determines flowering cycles.

A plant's ability to continue to produce ethylene, or resist the breakdown of such hormones, is what makes it more or less susceptible to herm. It's obviously genetic.

If you want to use pollen from such a plant, go ahead. But I would never trust the progeny in an indoor growth. That's just me.