The hermaphrodite cannabis plant is something nobody wants. Beginners know that the cannabis plant has two different genders, i.e., male and female.
These sexes have allowed the cannabis plant to grow for centuries. A hermaphrodite cannabis plant has both male and female sexes, which may have been caused due to genetic anomaly.
It is one of the most undesirable traits in marijuana that has to be used for recreational for medicinal use. The production of access seeds in the hermaphrodite cannabis plant reduces the final product’s quality and quantity.
Spotting Female and Male Plants
A female plant can be differentiated by the production of leaves with tiny white stigma. With time number of hair increases, and the bottom swells up.
The male plant can be spotted by the development of pollen sacs on nodes. They look like tiny balls hanging by the plants.
Characteristics of Male and Female Plants
The first sign of the bloom can tell if it’s a female plant. It can be spotted about a week before the flowering stage begins. Female plants develop bracts with white hair on their nodes. More branches and leaves emerge from the node as the plant starts pushing out.
The male plants are characterized by the appearance of pollen sacs on the nodes. The pollen sacs are small balls that hang around the plant and can be easily distinguished.
How are hermaphrodite Plants formed?
Apart from the genetic variation, a cannabis plant can also become hermaphrodite if exposed to stress.
Crop induced stress can be caused by nature or grower. Is cannabis strain having different environmental requirements such as nutrients, PH of soil, and amount of water? Let’s take an example of pure Afghani strain. It requires dry ground with a minimum amount of nutrients, but if you grow it in rainy areas or nutrient-rich soils, it will turn to hermaphrodite. Search rates can also be seen in other species where excess irrigation, inadequate PH, or water stress may turn the plant into hermaphrodite cannabis.
Cannabis can also invert a reverse its sex in the presence of some chemicals. For example, suppose the cannabis plants come in contact with silver thiosulfate or colloidal silver. In that case, it can turn itself into a hermaphrodite or intersex plant because, in the presence of these chemicals, the plant starts to generate male flowers and immediately stops generating female flowers.
Some other factors that may turn a typical plant into a hermaphrodite are:
- Interruption in the dark period during the flowering phase
- Adverse environmental conditions such as heat our temperature more significant than 27 degrees Celsius
- Late harvest
- Mechanical stress such as damaged or broken roots and branches
- Excess use of fertilizers
- Lack or excess of irrigation
- Use of pesticides, fungicides and other phytotoxic
How to Avoid Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plant?
The most vital thing that should be kept in mind to avoid diet cannabis plants is to lessen the stress factors, especially during the flowering stage. Any physical damage or breakage may stimulate the production of hermaphrodite plants.
Make sure to perform the staking and pruning before the birds started and in the pre-flowering stage. Try to maintain suitable environmental conditions in the cultivation area and maintain proper hygiene. Check the crop for insects and pests and a balanced nutrition solution.
What to do if You Find a Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plant?
To ensure that you have a healthy cannabis crop, check the male flowers before the flowering stage. You can easily spot the male cars as they are banana-like in shape and yellow in color. The cannabis plant shows male and female flowers at the beginning of the flowering stage; it signifies the hermaphrodite plant. It is advisable to remove this plant immediately from the growing space as there are chances that it can transmit the hermaphrodite straight to the upcoming offspring.
If any plant of your marijuana crop becomes a hermaphrodite at the end of the flowering stage, you should harvest before the male flowers are ready to release their Pollen.
What to Do with Hermaphrodites?
You can use the hermaphrodite plants in three ways.
Feminize seeds
In case you have harvested a hermaphrodite plant, it can be used to feminize Cannabis seeds. It should be harvested in the soil with other female plants. Male organs are generated by invoking one or more females by using different hormones. The resultant seeds will be female, and they are an economical choice for growing the next Cannabis crop. The feminized seeds have more than 80% chance of becoming a female. However, if you still end up with hermaphrodite, it must be because of some environmental shock.
Making concentrates
Hermaphrodite marijuana plants can be used to make concentrates as they have enough THC and CBD content in them. They can be used to make shatter, budder has, or powder. The hermaphrodite plants’ THC content is relatively low, but making a dense concentrate will do the job.
One of the best methods to make concentrates is the CO2 extraction method. In this procedure, solvents are used to separate different compounds, mostly CO2. It is processed under extreme temperature and pressure such that it oscillates between the three states. At this stage, we can break cannabinoids and detach them and collect THC or CBD.
Use it to smoke
the flowers of a hermaphrodite plant can be used for smoking. If you want to save the plant from becoming useless, you can pick the flower using a pair of tweezers or even pick it by hand. You can also remove any pollen sacs. Some grower also prefers removing entire flower that shows any male character.
The Right Time for Harvesting Cannabis?
To know about the Cannabis harvest’s right time, you should always watch out for the trichomes command that small glands appear on the plant. Use a microscope to see the milky or Amber colored trichomes. The ideal time for harvest is when 50 percent of the trichomes are translucent or milky. Most people like to wait until the trichomes become members of color. However, if you are interested in a great harvest, do not wait for the trichomes to become amber as they may lose some essential traits in the transformation. Moreover, if you wait for too long, the Cannabis plant may enter the survival mode and pollinate itself by generating male organs.
Wrap up
Taking proper care of the plants and preparing well for cultivation can avoid the production of hermaphrodite plants. Do your homework and study enough about the strain you are trying to grow. Know about the soil’s nutrient content, temperature, water requirements, and other climatic conditions before growing the strain.