Crossbreeding Genetics (Feral Hemp) For Specific Traits

Hey, how's it going here guys? First time poster so go easy on me.

Ok, first a little about myself. I'm an MMM Patient (MI) with a indoor grow going on inside. But that's not the point of my question.

My roommate this evening found small feral hemp plants growing on the edge of out property. According to research, it is not Cannabis Ruderalis (not native to this region). Nor does it look like Ruderalis, yes they are young though. An odd find on the edge of an old farm field...

More research has yielded that it is more than likely wild (escaped) hemp from industrial hemp farms during the early 20th century.

Ruderalis along with Industrial hemp are known for being low in THC as well as other compounds.

Basic selective breeding has taught us that certain traits can be mixed and crossed into other plant species by crossbreeding. I'm not specifically speaking of increasing THC or CBD levels either.

Would it be possible to cross and blend other traits as well, without taking note of THC or CBD levels?

Am I completely wrong?

I don't think you're wrong but what other traits would you be looking for? Basically going to be downgrading the pot plants you breed with the hemp.

I'm growing a female OTTO#1 plant now that is a form of hemp bred to have high CBD and less than 1% THC. I had got two males before and saved their pollen and have been breeding it with everything I got to get some CBD in my favorite strains.

Unless someone planted ruderalis seeds there then you found ditch weed.

I strongly doubt it's Ruderalis, it's on the far edge of an old farmfield (edge of tree line) as well as to close to a road to be something else. I'm thinking it's an escaped form of industrial hemp. I live in the lower portion of Michigan as well.

From further research (good old google), "Ditch Weed" is feral hemp (industrial) plants that have been propigating in nature in the early 20th century.

I don't know if "downgrading" is the right word, it depends on what traits you are looking for. Specifically, I'm looking for frost tolerance/cold tolerance and phenotypes that enjoy the natural soil(s) around here.

I understand I would be lessening the THC/CBD/CBDN/ETC of the cross itself. but that can also be easily corrected by breeding that cross with something else.

A bit of an amateur botonist here.

* I've also come across multiple websites, forums, and articles that both say feral hemp is cannabis ruderalis and that it is not... So, I'm not sure which to believe. Gotta love the internet.

CXII86 said:

I strongly doubt it's Ruderalis, it's on the far edge of an old farmfield (edge of tree line) as well as to close to a road to be something else. I'm thinking it's an escaped form of industrial hemp. I live in the lower portion of Michigan as well.

From further research (good old google), "Ditch Weed" is feral hemp (industrial) plants that have been propigating in nature in the early 20th century.

I don't know if "downgrading" is the right word, it depends on what traits you are looking for. Specifically, I'm looking for frost tolerance/cold tolerance and phenotypes that enjoy the natural soil(s) around here.

I understand I would be lessening the THC/CBD/CBDN/ETC of the cross itself. but that can also be easily corrected by breeding that cross with something else.

A bit of an amateur botonist here.

* I've also come across multiple websites, forums, and articles that both say feral hemp is cannabis ruderalis and that it is not... So, I'm not sure which to believe. Gotta love the internet.

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Ruderalis is an autoflower, and from what I have read hemp is typically a sativa strain. Nonetheless it could still potentially impart the traits you are looking for, especially the love for native soil if it has been growing for generations. Regardless I think it's a good idea to try.

CXII86 said:

* I've also come across multiple websites, forums, and articles that both say feral hemp is cannabis ruderalis and that it is not... So, I'm not sure which to believe. Gotta love the internet.

Click to expand...

It's definitely not ruderalis. It was commonly known as Indian Hemp as it was first brought in by British settlers that got the seed from their holdings in India and was extensively cultivated in the colonies. Was even a form of taxation as farmers were required to grow a certain amount of hemp and submit it as payment. I'm pretty sure that ruderalis, from the cold north of Siberia and the like, wasn't even recognized as a cannabis varietal until sometime in the later 20th century.

It, like hemp, is very low in THC but has a lot of the other cannabinoids. The one trait that got breeders excited was it's autoflowering ability and that's been quite useful.

Thing is about serious breeding is the hundreds of plants you have to grow just to get the prime few you need and the ability to be able to select them correctly. I just putter, have fun doing it and get all my meds for free.

I'll chime in quick because I've been dabbling with feral hemp and other landrace found across the globe that are suited to my climate(zone 4b) and have had AWESOME results!
I'm surprised you new-school growers haven't gone retro yet because MN grown feral cannabis S. Has like 30 different phenotypes, 6 or 7 being purple, blurple and black strains. Second, the pure Indica feral landraces are well suited to grow all the way up until December and they make HUGE, HEALTHY seeds every time, even with no males miles/kilometers away!!
I could go on and on but breeding using landraces doesn't "dilute" or "downgrade" any kind of marijuana in any way when experimenting correctly. This takes years but maybe someday soon my Hulk Buster strain (Bruce banner kush x feral C. Sativa x NL#5 x back x)I've created hits the streets near you, it'll make you think differently about "ditch weed"...
One plant, 19ft tall, 9 ft wide, all flower in 12 weeks and not 17 like hemp or some continental sativa strains=3.6lbs dry of better than dispensary stuff!

Pictured is this year's run of one of my landrace sativa that had a branch snap in the wind the other day. Almost no seeds and CBD that kills back pain or gives you weird dreams when eaten as edibles. Yeah, you don't smoke it unless you're the zero alcohol beer kinda person(or white claw)...on the other hand I have smoked some so-called ditch weed that made the room spin off one puff.

Lastly, some people grow these strains for nostalgic reasons like for instance, my grandparents have land where this stuff grows everywhere, nobody to care for it for hundreds of miles each direction...these plants nourish and sustain all types of life beyond stoners. Another quick story before I go..
Some "hobbyists" I've known over the years, know farm land where cattle graze on this specifically all season long and make the best beef and even Turkey you can imagine! Then after cows poop, two types of psychedelic mushrooms appear. I've even witnessed the truth behind smoking dried dung first hand like cheech and Chong...gotta decarboxylate those cbds and further break down complex THCs for further decomp in lungs! Lmao

calicko said:

I'll chime in quick because I've been dabbling with feral hemp and other landrace found across the globe that are suited to my climate(zone 4b) and have had AWESOME results!
I'm surprised you new-school growers haven't gone retro yet because MN grown feral cannabis S. Has like 30 different phenotypes, 6 or 7 being purple, blurple and black strains. Second, the pure Indica feral landraces are well suited to grow all the way up until December and they make HUGE, HEALTHY seeds every time, even with no males miles/kilometers away!!
I could go on and on but breeding using landraces doesn't "dilute" or "downgrade" any kind of marijuana in any way when experimenting correctly. This takes years but maybe someday soon my Hulk Buster strain (Bruce banner kush x feral C. Sativa x NL#5 x back x)I've created hits the streets near you, it'll make you think differently about "ditch weed"...
One plant, 19ft tall, 9 ft wide, all flower in 12 weeks and not 17 like hemp or some continental sativa strains=3.6lbs dry of better than dispensary stuff!

Pictured is this year's run of one of my landrace sativa that had a branch snap in the wind the other day. Almost no seeds and CBD that kills back pain or gives you weird dreams when eaten as edibles. Yeah, you don't smoke it unless you're the zero alcohol beer kinda person(or white claw)...on the other hand I have smoked some so-called ditch weed that made the room spin off one puff.

Lastly, some people grow these strains for nostalgic reasons like for instance, my grandparents have land where this stuff grows everywhere, nobody to care for it for hundreds of miles each direction...these plants nourish and sustain all types of life beyond stoners. Another quick story before I go..
Some "hobbyists" I've known over the years, know farm land where cattle graze on this specifically all season long and make the best beef and even Turkey you can imagine! Then after cows poop, two types of psychedelic mushrooms appear. I've even witnessed the truth behind smoking dried dung first hand like cheech and Chong...gotta decarboxylate those cbds and further break down complex THCs for further decomp in lungs! Lmao

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You lost me at smoking cow dung

OldMedUser said:

Thing is about serious breeding is the hundreds of plants you have to grow just to get the prime few you need and the ability to be able to select them

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When you breed, what are you looking for in the plants, at which time during development and in what priority, typically?

ComputerSaysNo said:

When you breed, what are you looking for in the plants, at which time during development and in what priority, typically?

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I've been pollen chucking for 20 years and just the last couple have really started to try and be more selective about what I look for so in that dept I'm still a nOOb. For me it's mainly the medicinal effects I'm after so I'm aiming for that more than super high THC or CBD levels tho one that works and produces well is bonus.

In some cases I won't have a choice. I have one GG#4 and one Pink Kush so will be cloning them to be able to spray one each with STS and make S1 seeds tho will also be crossbreeding some of those with others just to see what grows out of them. Have a couple of Cherry Noir clones coming soon from a friend back east that are from different mothers so can cross each with the other. Have some fem autos I want to make fem seeds with too and those are trickier as you can't get clones off them to see how the mothers test out like you can with photo plants.

One thing that stuck with me while reading about selecting plants and from more than one well known breeder is don't be quick to select only the biggest and most robust of plants as that leads to degredation of the line. Some that aren't so perfect often have very desirable traits that can enhance the line if you know what to look for. That's the hard part and I don't think I have the 'nose' for a lot of it. Anyone can pollen chuck and if you start with well known great genetics you should get decent results but finding those gems in the dung heap is really an art unto itself.

So many seeds are sold as F1s or F2s for big cash and very little effort has been put in to turning them into gems they should go for a couple bucks per seed. Prime stock has usually been selectively bred for 8 generations or more with some back-crossing thrown in to dial in the desired traits. That takes a lot of work and dedication so is worth paying extra for. I'll never attain that level and mainly breed to preserve the genetics of a strain I really like and have more seeds to grow the same. I hated fem seeds and always wanted regulars to get some good looking boys to make more seeds with. Now that I'm using the STS and have seeds ready from my first run fems are more desirable to me tho still like regs and have lots of both to play with.