[StinkyGreen]

Can you judge the type of high that a hybrid plant will likely produce by it's physical characteristics?

I've seen hybrid strains exhibit different traits, such as height, shape of leaves, and medicinal effect. I've also read that certain traits (tall, thin leaves, 'up' high) are associated with Sativa strains, and certain traits (short, broader leaves, 'stony' high) are associated with Indica strains.

Will plants that exhibit more Sativa leaning physical traits be more likely to have a more Sativa leaning high, or are all the various traits essentially independent and you can't necessarily judge a hybrid plant by it's physical characteristics?

[daoboxer]

Hiya Stinky,
Can I judge the type of high solely by observing physical characteristics? No...but I'm sure there are others who could.
I would say that if you've been growing a lot of plants of one particular cultivar from seed to fruition, then you'd be able to make a good, educated guess. It's all about plant numbers and observational skill. The more plants you grow, and pay attention to, the greater your chances of getting it right, I would say.
Peace.

[VerdantGreen]

i think you can make an educated guess - as you say, sativa looking plants are more likely to have a sativa type high - but the proof of the pudding is in the smoking
also the ripeness of the trics (clear, cloudy or amber) will have a large effect on the high.

[LittleAmsterdam]

I believe you can make a pretty good educated guess how it's going to grow, but you'll never know how she'll smell or bud until your flower her !

[StinkyGreen]

Thanks guys.

[HushemFlupskluk]

Stinkygreen. You had your answer probably. I would like to confirm also that you most likelly could judge the final result through onbesrvating caractaristics of the flowers/plants.

But you need to educate yourself in this through multiple folowing rounds of that same genetics to first observe and then smoke the diffirent genetic expressions.

Atleast 2 following rounds I guess. Each atleast 5 seeds. More rounds of these genetics would eventually improve you judging skills.

GL!

[LittleAmsterdam]

I've started sniffing my plants more while in Veg and noticed some produce more resins then others while in veg. I believe this is a trait that will carry over in flowering.

i.e. I've been growing some plants from seed and one of them I can smell a mile away. I know she's a keeper ! She's called 'California Orange' with a strong smell of ORANGE. I can't wait to smoke it. Sounds delicious

[CannabisFox]

Originally Posted by StinkyGreen

Can you judge the type of high that a hybrid plant will likely produce by it's physical characteristics?

Can you measure intelligence by just looking at people?
Yes and No

But you can never be sure

[Crusader Rabbit]

Thanks for asking the question StinkyGreen.

This is an interesting problem. I’ve read many threads here where people have described the “sativa” leaning phenotypic trait to have a “sativa” high, and described the same association with “indica” appearing plants and their psychoactive/physical effects. If this is the case then the most likely explanation would involve linked genes.


Pretty much all of a plant’s genetic information is contained in bundles of DNA called chromosomes. Each chromosome will contain a certain sequence of genes. A gene might have a number of different alleles, each allele expressing a different phenotype. Let’s put this together into an imaginary model to shed light on the question, “Is a sativa physical phenotype associated with a sativa high, and a similar association for indica?”.

Let us imagine that every cannabis plant has the imaginary Chromosome #N. And on every Chromosome #N is a gene that affects plant structure, and another gene that affects the high. So in this imaginary situation, a “pure sativa” would have within each of its two Chromosome #Ns, alleles of its plant's structure gene that code for long thin plants and leaves, and an allele of the other gene that was expressed in cannabinoids which produce an electric buzz. We assume that along similar lines, our imaginary “pure indica” genetic pool will only have on Chromosome #N the allele for short fat leaf/plants, and a narcotic buzz. Now let’s mix things up.

If we cross our “pure sativa” with our “pure indica”, each parent plant will contribute one Chromosome #N to the genetic make up of the offspring. Every seed/plant will be heterozygous, having one allele each of tall thin and fat short for structure, and one allele each of electric buzz and narcotic buzz for high. How this is expressed in the plant itself, the phenotype, is probably something intermediate between “sativa” and “indica”. When we mass pollinate these offspring it gets interesting.

There are three possible outcomes for the resulting imaginary F2 offspring in this simplistic model:

1. Plant contains two Chromosome #Ns with “sativa” alleles.
2. Plant contains two Chromosome #Ns with “indica” alleles.
3. Plant contains one Chromosome #N with “sativa” alleles, and one Chromosome #N with “indica” alleles.

In example one and example two, phenotype is associated with high.

When plant cells divide up to form ovules and pollen, the gamete producing cells undergo meiosis, which randomly selects one of each chromosome pair for the new gamete. Another process which occurs is that of crossing over, in which chromosome pairs match up, entwine, and swap parts. If done properly, the resulting chromosomes have all the right genes, but in a patchwork pattern. Our imaginary Chromosome #N now can have a mixture of “sativa” and “indica” alleles... the plant structure and plant buzz can be dissociated. For our imaginary situation to work, and for the original premise to be correct, then the plant “structure gene” must be closely located on the chromosome adjacent to the “high gene” where they are less likely to be separated by crossing over. These genes are said, “to be linked”.

So the breeders goal of taming a wild sativa while keeping its high, could be the elusive game of getting that magical crossing over to occur. This is the one where our imaginary Chromosome #N is snapped between the plant structure gene and the cannabinoid gene, and recombined to give you a new Chromosome #N which contains the allele for a short squat plant, and the allele for an electric buzz. That Chromosome #N is a collector’s item.

Of course this explanation is simplified beyond the realms of reality. Traits are polygenetic. Cannabinoid profiles are incredibly complex. But I think it’s a start in examining the question.

[LittleAmsterdam]

I have two girls right now in Veg that are soo stinky you can smell them walking down the hall ( Sensi Northern Lights & California Orange )

I've decided to base my future decisions on
a. How quickly she pre-flowers
b. How stinky she is during veg.
c. Any special coloring on the leaves petiole (last priority....)