Cannabis belongs to the group of plants known as dioicous. In other words, plants that produce pollen or seeds but never both in the gametophyte phase. However, cannabis plants could be hermaphrodites, also known as “hermies”. This happens when plants experience stress. For example, when female plants are not pollinated, then they will produce, as a last effort, pollen. In short, stressed female plants can become hermaphrodites. In addition, there is a process to obtain female cannabis seeds called “ rodelization “, which means, female plants pollinating themselves.
The best cannabis buds come from female plants that haven’t been pollinated. Therefore, if you want good quality cannabis buds and you are not looking for seeds, then you must avoid conditions of environmental stress.
Herming: How Can a Female Plant Become Hermaphrodite?
A female plant can become a hermaphrodite plant when it is put under environmental stress conditions. Sometimes, cannabis growers stress female cannabis plants in order to obtain feminized seeds. In this process unpollinated female plants try to pollinate themselves. In short, this process happens when female plants don’t get pollinated by a male cannabis plant. When female plants feel they are near their life cycle then these stressed female plants will grow male sacs and proceed to self-pollinate.
The main cause of hermaphroditism in cannabis plants is stress. For example, if the plant doesn’t get enough water or if you water the plant too much, lack of nutrients or excessive heat. This is an “auto-defense” response as plants interpret these stressors as environmental factors that can kill and prevent the plant of producing cannabis seeds. In short, when they are hermaphrodites, the plants will be able to produce pollen and self-pollinate. In addition, there are other stressors such as plagues, pesticides and physical damages that can trigger this response.
Furthermore, some seeds have a genetic predisposition to become hermaphrodites. For example, some cannabis growers believe rodelization will produce cannabis seeds with this tendency.
Is it Possible to Prevent Hermaphroditism?
As a cannabis grower, you want high quality cannabis buds. For that, you need to grow cannabis buds that have not been pollinated. The reason is simple, sinsemilla buds (seedless buds) are more potent and richer in cannabinoids than seeded cannabis buds.
When a female plant becomes hermaphrodite, then it can pollinate your entire crop. This will cause your female plants to produce more seeds and flowers and not buds rich in cannabinoids.
To prevent plants from becoming hermaphrodites, you need to inspect your plants daily for any unusual growth. In addition, buy cannabis seeds from reputable cannabis banks.
You need to check any unusual growths in your plants and also make sure you don’t see any pollen on your cannabis plants. In addition, if you notice your plant has male flowers, you can proceed to remove the male flowers only. However, plants with many male flowers could ruin your entire crop and therefore, it’s better to remove them entirely.
Can a Male Plant Become Female?
Plants are either male or female, but there are ways to make a male plant display female characteristics. However, these methods require the use of chemicals such as ethylene. This process shows better results when it is applied on male plants that have not fully developed flowers.
The same applies to cloning a plant. It is not possible to clone a female plant from a male plant. This is basic genetics as when we clone a plant, we will get the exact traits and genes as the mother plant.
Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants: Conclusion
A female plant can become a hermaphrodite plant when it is put under environmental stress conditions. This is occasionally done by cannabis growers to get feminized seeds from a cannabis plant. This happens when a stressed female cannabis plant produces pollen to pollinate itself.
In conclusion, a female plant can produce pollen when it experiences environmental stress. This could be lack of water, too much water, lack of nutrients or excessive heat among other stressors such as pesticides, plagues, etc.
Originally published at https://www.getispire.com on September 10, 2020.
