Male cannabis plants are actually very important for cultivation. While most people want the females because you want the buds to smoke, most people don’t realize that male plants are just as important. This is something that people keep away though, because of the stigma, to the point where they would keep all-male plants out of there for fear of pollinating, and they also may be regarded as worthless, especially in smaller operations. But they are useful, and in this, you’ll learn why male cannabis plants are vital for the success of your yield.
The Difference
Before they flower, there are different ways you can determine whether a plant is female or male. After the vegetative phase is done, and you start having plants that flower they usually will display whether or not they are female or male, usually within a couple of weeks. The indoor tends to be a lot faster than the outdoor ones for you to tell, and if they have some sacs, you can usually figure out that it’s male. If you notice bracts or hairs, then you’ve got a female plant.
Male plants also have less leaves, thicker and bigger stalks. Male plants usually also have pre-flowers too. They’re basically flowers that are showing up in less than four weeks for male plants and then over four weeks for the female plants. The pre-flowers are found at the V location where the stalk and stem meat, which is near the top part of where your plant is, nearest the light. The pre-flowers in females also tend to have hairs and pistils on it, whereas the male plants have sacs which are small in it.
Why Male plants
You might wonder just why you should care about male plants.
For starters, it offers better, more rewarding diversity in the gene pool. This is because cannabis does have dioecious features to it, which is something that tons of breeding programs take advantage of. This is one that means that it’s got distinct characteristics of males and females, and they also can do the self-pollination.
Some people actually like this and they use that to their advantage, especially when they want to have certain characteristics to be present in future plants, which is something that has become kind of popular. Not every single person wats to worry about hermaphroditism either, since it does weaken the nee pool and creates breeding. Good male plants that are kept well do ensure that the gene pool is something that’s kept nice and alive for the future generations, so you can keep the characteristics, the terpene profiles and the patterns of growth the same for people.
It's also good for controlling pests. A lot of people will use the male plants because of the terpenes they create. Borneol, pinene, and limonene all work as insect repellents for the crops that are there. They can not fertilize the females if they do stay far enough away. Just make sure that you don’t handle female plants right after a male plant.
Finally, they have some decent potency to it too. While yes, the females are what’s responsible for making the buds, they still have some HTC and CBD of their own inside their own flowers. They also usually contain a more concentrated amount of cannabinoids than the flowers usually do, which is the opposite of females. They also make their own glands for resin, which is used to make some hashish, so it’s something that breeders can use, especially if they want to have high-yielding cannabis plants.
