Correlation between veg scent and quality?

I did some searching on this topic but couldn’t find much (other than people supporting both schools of thought)...is there any correlation between a strong scent during veg and eventual quality/potency?

I started three fem Honduras x Panama (ACE seeds) and winnowed it down to the strongest girl in terms of growth and resistance to minor screw-ups on my part. However it was a hard decision to make between her and her close second, who was not as vigorous but smelled better. The keeper has a slight scent to her, but nothing like her sister I parted with...

So now I’m second-guessing myself that I should have kept the smaller, but smellier, girl. Is there a rule of thumb that, across the same strain, smellier plants in veg will produce “better” buds? Or is that simply another trait that some exhibit, some don’t, and has absolutely no bearing on final quality?

There’s equal parts of my brain that are leaning either direction. My gut says “smells that early mean it’s going to be fire!!” while my head says “it’s just one more characteristic in a whole host of others and by itself means nothing”.

Doubt there’s any real science behind this but interested in what experienced growers have to say.

For what it’s worth I’m in week...6?7? of veg and just made the hard decision this past weekend when I went from 3g to final 7g pots. The girl who was “dismissed” is still sitting in my closet awaiting her final resting place and every time I go in there I find myself taking a whiff and thinking “should she have been the one to stay?”.

Not to sound like Pee Wee Herman,but I have found a good stem rub to be beneficial in determining which to take my time with , and give a little extra attention to.

Coincidentally , as with Pee Wee .....coming outta the closet may be the way to go.....hahahaha

Ha! I’d come out of the closet if I had a better space to play in...take that however you want!

I did a stem rub on both girls and they both smell the same - delicious and hashy, but the same. Hoping that means I made the right choice, as the difference in vigor was substantial.

Waiting for all the pro breeders to sign up and fill you in on the inner workings of their backyard cash crop? Good luck. Protected secrets? Or protected ignorance? I once heard a [seed maker guy] say acetic acid production in male stems = og children. Literally the only interesting thing I've heard a cannabis "breeder" say, ever.

Everyone thinks plants are born with a bunch of manufactured presents that are opened throughout their life, but it seems the plant actually has to construct those goodies from the materials it has available.. We know what makes acetic acid. So what makes `OGic acid` out of acetic acid? What plant function happens and how can that function be steered? I thought thats what type of discussion would be found on these forums. This community is off in snowflake land, blue ribbon zone, compared to all other craft circles.

"Dank times dank equals bank" is where most "breeders" are at. You're a hater if you don't praise some shitty weed. Look how many growers are looking for something "unique" . Unique? The market doesn't even have anything familiar for christs sake. Could a swore people want organic skunk, not some bud that smells like tea, petroleum jelly and cookie crumbs. The market has been mershafied from the top down thanks to the ostracization of education. No respect earned for the "breeders". I once used the word "aldehydic" to describe a strain to a pro grower/breeder who gives presentations on stage in front of hundreds of dupes, the guy lost his shit, I think he must've had a bad run in with a winery at one time, probably called some expensive bottle "dead ass terpy af" and quickly had his Instagram ass handed to him.

I have my own observations, as an [unemployed because I grow weed and make my own seed kind of guy]. Veg smells never translate to end smoke. My plants always smell like fruit, myrcene, or phenolic in veg. Stem rub gets passed on but rarely indicates the end product. Veg plants smell different on every node on lots of plants, which to me proves the concept of strains is bullshit, it's the inputs that create the "strain".


Tldr: you're on your own. Your observations are better than anyone's as you're actually willing to make them. No one in this internet weed circle jerk wants to admit they know nothing about their life blood or that their bud all smells like Cutting Edge products.