If you look at a strain’s lineage, you’ll often see the letter “x” between two different names. What you’re seeing is the strain’s parental lines — the first name is the pollen-receiving plant (mother), and the second name is the pollen donor (father).

With fully feminized strains, like the ones you get from BigMike’s Genetics, the pollen donor is actually a genetic female that has been “reversed” to produce pollen.

So why does all this matter?

Because when you know a strain’s parental lineage, you have vital information about its genetic background. That can help growers decide which strains they want to cultivate, and consumers decide which strain is best for their specific goals. You’ll also have key insights into traits like growth patterns, potency, flavor, and aroma.

Backcrossing Strains

Now, in some lineages, you’ll see the letters “bx.” This indicates backcrossing, a breeding technique where cultivators can develop a new strain with their desired characteristics, while preserving the genetic stability of the parents.

To backcross, cultivators cross a hybrid strain with one of its parent strains — typically the one with the desired characteristic. Then, the offspring is bred with the original parent strain, creating a new strain with a higher concentration of the desired trait.

Understanding Selective Breeding

Selective breeding is a deliberate and intentional process where cultivators seek to create varieties based on…

• The desired level of potency
• Signature flavors and aromas
• Resistance to pest and diseases

At BigMike’s Genetics, we select parent plants with the preferred attributes— and we carefully control the pollination process to ensure these traits are passed onto the offspring. Eventually, we selectively breed these offspring varieties with each other, resulting in a new and stable strain that consistently expresses the traits we’re targeting.

Generations

When cultivators breed, they create new generations throughout the process. That’s where the term Filial generations comes in — it refers to the offspring of a specific crossbreeding event.

If it’s a first generation variety produced by crossing two parent strains, that offspring is denoted as an “F1” generation. Each subsequent set of offspring produced by crossing these F1 generation varieties receives its own filial generation designation.

Breeding Techniques

There are multiple breeding techniques that help cultivators yield genetically stable strains with favorable characteristics.

The selfing technique (or self-pollination) involves producing offspring by crossing a female plant with itself. Without any fertilization from a male, the offspring becomes genetically identical to its mother. Environmental factors may slightly change the next generation’s traits.

The sibbing technique refers to breeding siblings, each with ideal attributes, to create a stable and genetically uniform strain. Ultimately, the objective is for this new offspring to possess the desired traits.

With line breeding, a cultivator repeatedly breeds an offspring with a parent or grandparent to develop a new line of genetically similar plants.

However, none of these breeding techniques comes without their risks.

Cultivators should be wary of inbreeding depression – or the loss of vigor and fertility when plants that are closely related are repeatedly bred together. That’s why genetic diversity is key to preserving the plant’s health when using this breeding technique.

With careful attention and expert monitoring, these breeding techniques can create stable and consistent strains with highly coveted attributes — which is exactly what you can expect from BigMike’s Genetics.