Since feminized seeds are now available, many cannabis growers will never see a male in their room since they destroy any males the moment they show signs of gender. The male cannabis plant has many other uses beyond producing pollen and seeds. Here are some of the things it can be used for.
Good males make Excellent fathers:
The males contribute half of the DNA that makes up the subsequent offspring of any cannabis breeding program by providing pollen to females. It is, therefore, possible to produce offspring that retain advantageous characteristics by selecting males that display such attributes.
Several traits can be distinguished relatively quickly, such as the growing rate, the health, and the resistance to mold, hermaphroditism, and pests. Expert breeders can spot subtle clues indicating a male’s potential for breeding, despite flavor and potency being less prominent.
If you pass on growth patterns from males to females with a bit of skill and perseverance, you can retain an original strain’s flavor and potency profile.
A typical controlled breeding program selects males based on the quality of their female offspring by breeding identical female clones with different males. The male phenotype may not be the same as that of the female offspring since cannabis phenotypic expression differs significantly between males and females. Still, certain inherited traits are expressed.
Breeders have found in their experiments that a male plant’s potency affects its female progeny, although this has not been empirically demonstrated.
A significant amount of trial and error is often involved in selective breeding programs. There is no way to assess the chosen male’s impact on the resultant phenotype until the female offspring produce a harvest, so it is easy to understand why. A clue to a plant’s final potency and flavor can be discerned early in the flowering period when both males and females begin producing cannabinoids and terpenes.
The essence of flowers and leaves is usually detected by squeezing or pinching them. While this method is rudimentary, it can yield important information.
There is a purpose for males in evolution:
Cannabaceae plants, including cannabis, are dioecious, with males and females separately (very few flowering plants possess this feature). Plants that flower (more than 80%) are hermaphroditic, meaning they have both male and female sexual organs within each flower.
Each of the main flowering plant types, gynomonoecy, and andromonoecy, makes up around 7% of flowering plant species. Plants with hermaphroditic and female or male flowers make up the remnant, composed of variations or mixtures of the three main types.
Dioecy increases the chance of genetic recombination in specific plant populations, which is thought to confer a selective advantage. Hermaphrodites or monoecious plants produce both male and female sexual organs. Inbreeding and weak genetic health in a population can result from the lack of variation, resulting in inbreeding and weakened genetic health. Self-pollinated plants produce offspring whose DNA is identical to those of their parents.
The self-incompatibility of many hermaphroditic species, however, prevents them from self-pollinating.
The monoecious phenotype of dioecious plants has been observed in a couple of examples, despite only being found in about 7% of species). It is, however, common for populations to gradually move towards dioecy when they have spread back to more advantageous locations.
When self-incompatibility does not exist, cross-pollination ensures genetic diversity.
As a result, cannabis can self-pollinate, has several monoecious strains, and has a great tendency to produce monoecious plants within dioecious populations, particularly during stressful times. As a result of adverse conditions, the number of males in cannabis can drastically decrease for a short time. However, a healthy male population is still the default method to guarantee the species’ long-term viability and health.
Potency is not always lacking in males
Despite the common belief that male marijuana does not contain cannabinoids, a study from 1971 has shown that both male and female cannabis contain cannabinoids, including those found in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Turkey.
While female plants exhibit a higher concentration of cannabinoids, male plants also exhibit significant levels.
According to a UNODC Bulletin from 2005, Moroccan male plants contain similar THC levels to female Moroccan plants, with THC contents ranging from 0.722% to 0.848%.
Males produce more resin glands on the upper leaves than females. In females and males, leaves contain 0.4% THC, and flowers contain 0.4-0.7% THC.
Male plants grown for hashish and concentrates
In hash-making areas like Morocco and Lebanon, male plants are often removed early to prevent pollination. Male plants are sometimes harvested along with females and processed.
Growers and breeders have used male flowers, leaves, and stems to make hashish and concentrates. Since the resin content is likely to be low, it is best to use large numbers of plants or methods that extract the maximum amount of resin from the plants. QWISO and butane extraction are among the methods that are worthwhile mentioning.
Male cannabis plants can also be used to make cannabutter and other oils and infusions. Although there is little definite evidence, anecdotal reports suggest male plants are more cerebral than female plants.
Juice can also be produced from males
In the same way that female cannabis plants are juiced, male cannabis plants can be juiced as well. There are some studies that suggest cannabinoids in their acid form have some medicinal benefits without any psychoactive properties. Despite different concentrations and ratios of cannabinoids, males also contain cannabinoids that show benefits when made into juice.
Except for large, fibrous fan leaves with high chlorophyll concentrations, any part of the plant can be used.
Plant fibers from male hemp plants
According to a 1996 Hungarian study, hemp fiber is retted, decorated, spun, and woven differently by males and females.
Male hemp fibers were traditionally used for finer clothes, while females were used for rougher clothing. They were considered finer and softer than female fibers. From fine textiles made from male hemp fibers, various household items, such as tablecloths, towels, and bed linens, were made.
Hungarian researchers concluded that female fibers were stronger than male fibers, but male fibers were more flexible and torsionally resistant. It was concluded that male fibers are significantly finer than female fibers due to their higher torsional resistance and flexibility. Male plants have a higher fibre percentage than female plants, at 31.5% to 29.6%.
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