Mephisto Genetics Autoflower size and genetics question.

[thetreeman]

Hey Mitch, Ive been wondering, is it primarily the autoflower genetics that determine the size of an autoflower, and not the original photo strain you are turning into an auto? Some autos seem to get much larger than others and I was wondering if this is the primary cause?

If, for example, you used the autoflower genetics from a DP strain thats known to get quite large, like TD or Autoultimate, and used that to create a new line of seeds, like your HBSS, from the photo parent, which Im assuming you still have, or have available to you at least, would it be significantly larger than the current plants get?

Creating autos that get large would be beneficial to outdoor growers, or growers in areas where there are restraints on # of plants people are allowed to grow.

I can also see the benefit of having small autos, for stealth grows, or whatever. I know one breeder just came out with new seeds of the same strain they had before that are labeled XXL, how was that done do you suppose? Is that something you have considered doing in the future?

 

[mephisto]

Hey man,

good question!

from all our observations in our strain making and experience.
I believe it's a combination of both parents and then selection over the subsequent generations as you get it to fully auto.

for example - 24c - was designed to be small and fast from the offset.
sour boggle was very indica dominant, with not much stretch, mated with a small fast auto the end result is a compact fast automatic with increased quality. That's one end of the spectrum.
And we've never had one surpass 70cm in height.

then with our current seed run strains like og that can triple in height in photoperiod guise, mated to a larger parent auto, and it's easy to find plants well over a metre tall.

as we are always breeding for quality first and foremost, at the f2 generation when the first auto's emerge, we are looking to find the plants that auto and bare the highest resemblance or combinations of specific traits from the photoperiod parent.

The biggest thing for us , in our own outdoor environment here is breeding an auto for mould resistance , there's no point having a big heavy yielding auto for all the buds to rot away.

It'll be worked this coming year but won't be testable outdoors until the following season.

kind regards mitch

 

[natertots]

Borrowing thread, sorry mephisto, do you only work with the ones that auto in f2? Or if aome show more desired traits and look for the autos further down the line? Thanks!

Hey man,

good question!

from all our observations in our strain making and experience.
I believe it's a combination of both parents and then selection over the subsequent generations as you get it to fully auto.

for example - 24c - was designed to be small and fast from the offset.
sour boggle was very indica dominant, with not much stretch, mated with a small fast auto the end result is a compact fast automatic with increased quality. That's one end of the spectrum.
And we've never had one surpass 70cm in height.

then with our current seed run strains like og that can triple in height in photoperiod guise, mated to a larger parent auto, and it's easy to find plants well over a metre tall.

as we are always breeding for quality first and foremost, at the f2 generation when the first auto's emerge, we are looking to find the plants that auto and bare the highest resemblance or combinations of specific traits from the photoperiod parent.

The biggest thing for us , in our own outdoor environment here is breeding an auto for mould resistance , there's no point having a big heavy yielding auto for all the buds to rot away.

It'll be worked this coming year but won't be testable outdoors until the following season.

kind regards mitch

 

[mephisto]

Borrowing thread, sorry mephisto, do you only work with the ones that auto in f2? Or if aome show more desired traits and look for the autos further down the line? Thanks!

Hi, yes we only work with the ones that auto in this generation. It's better to lock the af trait down as soon as possible in my opinion. Being that you have to grow out a large number of plants to find the best candidates to work with that express the af trait and the other traits you might be looking for within the project, it's better not to waste further time and space if you can help it.
also by not doing, you risk more non-autos popping up in the next generations.
Its really a numbers game and finding the right plants to work with involves An element of luck too.
For example this current seed run we are doing everything was 100% auto @f3 which helps with further selection, as you have more plants to select from and it's a hunt for your preferable phenotype(s), instead of having to bin plants that don't auto and be caught short.

Cheers

 

[thetreeman]

I guess I assumed that the auto side of the genetics would determine when vegetative growth stops and the plant starts to flower. Its probably more complicated than that tho....

 

[mephisto]

I guess I assumed that the auto side of the genetics would determine when vegetative growth stops and the plant starts to flower. Its probably more complicated than that tho....

I'd say that's a fair assumption
find a stable auto that you know behaves in a pre-determined way and growth pattern. Then try and find those same patterns with the improved ingredients from the photo parent.