The Unsorted BBS Collection/thegreatunsorted.tar/thegreatunsorted/texts/txtfiles_misc/pot26

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                 -+- The Merry Pranksters from Menlo Park -+-
                               10.1990.01.01.26

                 Marijuana Grower's Handbook - part 26 of 33
                               by pH Imbalance
                           "Sinsemilla and Sexing"

                                     from

                         Marijuana Grower's Handbook
                         [Indoor/Greenhouse Edition]
                                 Ed Rosenthal


   The word "sinsemilla" is derived from the two Spanish words "sin" and
"semilla" meaning respectively "without" and "seed".  Connoisseurs prize
sinsemilla partly because the marijuana has a greater potency and a more
intense aroma than seeded marijuana, and partly because of its enhanced
appearance.
   In order for the flowers to ripen unseeded, they must remain unpollinated
(unfertilized).  Male and female flowers usually appear on seperate plants.
The males are removed from the space as soon as they are recognized.  This
should be done early in the male plants' development, before any large
flower clusters appear.  Even a single open flower cluster can release enough
pollen to fertilize thousands of female flowers.
   Males can be detected early by carefully examining the space where the
leaf joins the stem (internode).  Before the plant begins to develop flower
clusters, a single male or female flower will sometimes grow in the
internode.  A male flower will have what looks like a bulb growing from a
thin stem, and at the bulb's end there will be a curved protrusion that
looks something like a little bent finger.  A female flower will usually
have two antennae-like protrusions jutting out.  [pH:They look kinda like
slugs or snails]  Sometimes a sexually indistinguishable flower appears.
   The females' leaves begin to grow closer together, forming a strong stem
which will hold the clusters of flowers and later the ripening seed.
   Any plants which have not indicated are watched closely, and the females
are watched for any signs of hermaphrodites.  These plants are primarily
female but they produce some fertile male flowers.  This may consist of
only a few clusters, an entire branch, or, occasionally, males throughout
the plant.  These plants are dangerous in any sinsemilla garden.  Even a
small cluster of flowers can ruin entire colas of buds.  Either the male
flowers should be removed and the plant checked daily, or the plant should
be removed from the garden, which is the safest course of action.  [pH:Use
it for seed.]
   There are several methods used to sex plants early.  Since marijuana
flowering is regulated by the number of hours of uninterrupted darkness, it
is easy to manipulate the plant's flowering cycle.  Young plants can be
forced to indicate by putting them under a long night regimen.  The plants
will begin to indicate within a few days and after 10 days, fast growing
plants should have clearly defined flowers.  Once the plants indicate, the
males can be seperated from the females, and the garden can be returned to
the vegetative growth cycle simply by changing the light regimen back to the
long day/short night.
   Putting the plants through an abbreviated flowering cycle sets them back
several weeks.  First, their growth is stopped and then it takes them some
time to start growing again.  Some growers feel that the plants lose a bit
of vigor in the process.  To eliminate stresses in the garden, a clone can
be taken of each plant.
   The clones should be tagged to denote plant of origin and then placed in
water or rooting medium under a long night/short day environment.  The
clones will have the same sex as its clone parent, so the clone parent's sex
is determined before the plant is out of the vegetative stage.  The female
clones can be continued under the flowering regimen and will provide a taste
of the clone-parent's future buds.  [pH:Flowering clones being an excellent
way to keep a small stash while the plants are growing]
   Within a few days of the change in the light regimen to a long night, the
plants begin to show changes in their growth patterns.  First, their rate of
growth, which might be as much as 2 inches a day during the previous cycle,
slows and stops.  Next the plants begin to differentiate.  The males
elongate upon ripening so that their flower sacks, which contain copious
amounts of pollen, tower above the females.  Marijuana is normally
wind-pollinated.
   The females start to grow stocky stems with shorter nodes between the
leaves.  The number of fingers on the leaves decreases and the plant may
revert from opposite leaves to a pattern of leaves alternating on the stem.
   Within a few weeks, large numbers of pistils (the white antennae) will
form along the stem and on the tops of the branches.  If the flowers are
fertilized, the pistils will start to dry up, beginning at the tips.  Each
fertilized flower produces a seed.  Such formation, which commences upon
fertilization, is apparent by the third day.  The ovary at the base of the
pistil swells as the new seed grows inside of it.
   As long as most flowers remain unfertilized, the plant continues to
produce new flowers.  The clusters get thick with the unfertilized flowers
over a period of several weeks.  Then the flowering pattern begins to
change.  The pistils begin to wither, similar to the way pistils of
fertilized flowers do and they begin to dry while at the same time changing
color.  Next, the calyx (ovary) begins to swell.  There is no seed
developing inside the calyx; it is a sort of false pregnancy.  When the
calyx has swelled, the cluster or cola is ripe and ready to be picked.
   The pistil's color is a factor of genetics and temperature.  Some plants,
including many indicas, naturally develop a purplish color.  Many indicas
and most sativas develop a red color.  However, the color may change to
purple or become more pronounced if the roots are subjected to a cool
environment, below 55 degrees.
   The growing flowers develop glands over their outer surfaces.  Glands
also develop along the small leaf parts surrounding the flower.  These are
unlike the glands found on the immature plant, the sun leaves, and the stem.
The earlier glands were either connected directly to the plant, usually
along the stem or had a small one-celled stalk connected to the head which
filled with cannabinoids.  The new glands have a longer stem which supports
a larger head.  The head is a membrane that fills with cannabinoids.  The
analogs of THC produced in the different types of glands may vary.
   When the gland first appears the head is small but it begins to swell and
looks like it might burst.  Given any stress it will.  Usually the head is
filled as the plants go into the last stage of flowering, as the ovaries
begin to swell.  This is usually when experienced growers pick the buds.

   Researchers, scientists, and gardeners have debated the purpose that THC
serves to the plant.  THC and the water-soluble compounds which impart the
taste and aroma to the flowers act as an anti-bacterial agent, and repel
some insects.  They also repel most other animals including mammals and
birds.  (Remember, we are talking about a mature plant, heavy with resin.)
This is not uncommon in plants.  To assure that the seed is viable and not
destroyed to thwart predators.  Once the seed matures,  it is palatable to
these creatures.  This is one of the ways that the plant spreads its
populations without human help.  Animals and birds eat the seeds, an
occasional seed passes out the animal's system unharmed, allowing the
species to colonize a new location.
   Once the calyx swells, the glands begin to change color.  The THC in the
head was previously a clear liquid.  When the calyx is getting a little
overripe, the gland head tints an amber shade.  This indicates that the THC
is beginning to degrade into two other cannabinoids, CBL or CBN, which are
not nearly as powerful as THC.