What is Hybrid Cannabis?
The commercialization of the cannabis industry has urged people to grow hybrid cannabis strains and enjoy mixed pleasure. Hybrid Cannabis is a man-made and custom-built plant with different but specific characteristics that are mainly found in Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis strains.
Hybrid Cannabis is a supercharged strain that is a combination of two or more plants. Growing hybrid Cannabis is not a piece of cake as it involves some critical traits. Nevertheless, the growers of hybrid Cannabis produce new and exciting varieties of hybrid Cannabis while maintaining quality and pleasure standards.
Common Types of Hybrid Cannabis Strains
Hybrid strains come in four different types. Common types of Hybrid Cannabis include:
Sativa x Indica: This hybrid strain has dominant Sativa characteristics. Although this type has the presence of both strains, the presence of the Sativa strain is more than indica.
Sativa x Sativa: In this type, two different varieties of Sativa are combined with breeding a strain.
Indica x Sativa: This type of strain has the presence of both strains, but the characteristics of indica are more dominant in this strain.
Indica x indica: Two different varieties of indica are put together to breed a strain.
How to Grow Hybrid Cannabis? A Brief Guide
Every plant has a different process of growing. And when it comes to the growth of Cannabis, the process is no different. The natural process of plant growth is followed by the pollination of male and female pollen. But, in the case of hybrid growth, the breeders set a controlled environment and engage in the process of selective breeding. Conclusively, male and female plant pollen is used to create a different setting.
The seed strains produced in this process are first-generation hybrids. Those who want to achieve some other desired traits breed the plant again. Once the desired traits have been achieved the strain is cubed. That is, a hybrid strain is bred again with the parent strain to realize more stable characteristics out of the strain.
Recessive and Dominant Traits
The genetic and inheritance process of plants and humans is the same. The material received from both of the parents decides about the genes, however, the dominance is always achieved based on the individual characteristics of the plant.
Complete vs Incomplete dominance
Two types of characteristics exist in a plant strain.
Complete dominance: Complete dominance is when the dominant strain fully exceeds the expression recessive strain resulting in the presence of only dominant strains in phenotype. Let us give an example to get a more clear idea. Suppose there is a plant with green features and dominant characteristics and the other recessive plant has purple coloured characteristics. In that case, the first generation produced from this will be green dominant and the subsequent generations might have purple color characteristics.
Incomplete dominance: This is when none of the strains gets dominant in the gene process, hence both dominant and recessive features become part of the phenotype. Again, the plant with dominant green features and purple color will represent a mixture of green and purple compared to the above.
Side Effects and Risks Associated with Hybrid Cannabis
Cannabis is commonly used for medicinal purposes. But due to its commercialization, where people want to get relief from anxiety and stress, people are ignoring its side effects too. They might be using Cannabis for one purpose but they are most probably unaware of the other side of consuming Cannabis. Some of the most common symptoms and side effects associated with Cannabis are:
All of these symptoms even worsen the situation if the person is already facing some other medical issues. And at times, people who want to treat their anxiety through Cannabis worsen their anxiety issues. There is always some bad associated with attaining something good especially when it comes to medicines.
Some Popular Hybrid Cannabis Strains
The vast availability and consumption of cannabis strains in dispensaries have made it one popular choice among people. However, this list includes the name of the most commonly adopted hybrid strains.
White widow: This is one of the balanced types of hybrid strain and has been in use since the 90s. It was first introduced in dutch coffee shops. This strain is equally popular among growers and consumers. Some other popular strains are produced from this hybrid strain: White Rhino, Blue Widow and White Russian.
Cannatonic: This is one of the popular and unique hybrid strains for many reasons. It has higher CBD content as compared to THC and that is 12 percent and 7 percent respectively. This hybrid strain has a citrus flavor with an earthy smell and is mainly used as a medicinal marijuana strain.
Pineapple Express: This hybrid strain is a Sativa dominant strain. This strain has a sweet citrus taste with some pineapple undertone. This hybrid strain got famous when it was accidentally crossed with Trainwreck and Hawaiian and was named after a movie released in 2008.
Wedding cake: Wedding cake also known as Triangle mints #23 is an Indica dominant strain. It has a tangy-sweet flavor. Its rich limonene property has won its awards as well. Before consuming this strain, one key thing to consider is that it has 25 percent THC content, so always consume it wisely.
Runtz: Also known as Runtz OG is a sweet and fruity hybrid. This strain has also won an award in 2000. This comes in different shades, but most often it comes in purple and lime green range.
Depending upon their range, these hybrid strains are mostly available at different cannabis dispensaries. The experts in dispensaries can help consumers determine which type of strain would best suit their needs.
Common Reasons to Grow Hybrid Strains
There can be many reasons for growing and breeding hybrids. But one of the most common reasons behind growing hybrids is the satisfaction and relaxation associated with its strains. In addition, the recreational use of Cannabis has added more benefits to its users than was once used only for medicinal purposes. Some other common but popular reasons behind growing hybrid strains include:
Outlook of the flower
Sativa plants usually grow like tall trees whereas Indica plants are short. When it comes to hybrid strains, these are customized plants with mixed features and characteristics. Their size and growth rate are different due to development restrictions.
Combination of essential oils
Hybrid strains are usually combined and mixed with essential oils and are now most commonly used for calming, relaxing and medicinal purposes.
Presence of cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are one of the key elements when it comes to adding effects to cannabis strains. One cannabis plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids with the two most dominant strains including THC and CBD. A hybrid is a combination of Sativa and Indica parent plants that enables breeders to know the effects of the hybrid beforehand. With the expanding nature of medical purposes, more and more plants are being grown to keep up with the pace of rising demand and its healing effects.
Amount of resin
Some plants and flowers have more resin, and hybrid strains are one of them. Resin is a kind of amber-coloured material that is mainly found in trichomes and is considered one of the key parts of cannabis plants. It also contains a huge amount of THC content and is useful in adding psychoactive effects. The substance of resin is sticky due to the presence of trichomes. Resin can be harvested by producing different concentrates including rosin, live resin and butane hash oil.
Future of Growing Hybrid Cannabis
Hybrid strains are not produced or bred today. However, they have been in use for decades. The only difference is that its commercial and recreational benefits have added purpose to its existence. Growing hybrid Cannabis is not easy and not everyone’s game. It requires proper breeding knowledge about combinations and mixtures and which strain will create what effect. Many people choose to breed the same strain time and again, but most of the breeders love doing customization and producing hybrid strains for multifold effects.
Conclusion
The growing usage of Cannabis has urged people to experiment with new strains by breeding plants and producing a hybrid strain. Hybrid strains have multipurpose effects depending upon the type of strain chosen. Hybrid strains come in different flavors and have different effects. However, the ones who are aware of Indica and Sativa strains know that their combination will only give the end-user soothing, relaxing, and calming effects. The breeders of hybrid Cannabis always adhere to the characteristics of each strain and focus on producing a hybrid strain that is harm free.