How do you figure out a strain?

You know how sometimes a plant will be "70% White Widow and 30% Skunk One"?

How do they figure that out or how do they mix them together? I'm guessing some sort of controlled manual pollenation. But still, how do you get ratios?

 

I'm guessing it's just mixed together, but I know nothing about growing.

 

sounds to complicated for a stoner like me to figure out...

 

Its all in how the breeder breeds them. It takes alot of breeding to get the strain they really want, and sometimes they never end up with what they want, due to the fact that the plants have dominant and recessive traits, just like every other living creature. Your mother could have blue eyes, your father brown, and you could end up with green eyes. Its a recessive trait that can come out at any time. For further explanation, (since I'm not really big into breeding) I'd suggest you read "The Cannabis Grow Bible" it goes into some details on how it all works.

 

they splice the genes of plant X with plant Y and see how it grows. if it doesn't grow like its supposed to then that combo wont work. but if it does grow right and nothing wrong with it, then you got a whole other strain. like splicing 30% sativa with 70% indica and coming out with northern lights #3 or some shit

 

There's no way to tell unless u are very familiar with all strains.

 

i'd say there's nearly know way to tell period

first off there is no possible way somone is splicing percantages of plants into another plan, unless you are like a professional botanist/scientest with very very good equipment at your disposal

2nd, who's to say the seads/clones you are getting are a pure strain? they could go back generations and generations of hybrids/shit mixes and finally just arrive at what you have in your hand

3rd, the people selling this shit to you dont give 2 fucks what it is, unless they have 1-2 plants of personal, or truely care about the final product then they arent thinking twice about the strain, all they are hoping for is a healthy grow, and a large yield to rip people off with

there are very very few ppl ala ranger who actually take so much pride in what they do that they want to know exactly what they have, people selling to make money or to simply produce want large yields, they are never looking out for your interests, only their own.

 

Yeah, names play more of a figurehead role in the world of cannabis.

 

It's all in the breeding; an experienced breeder will be able to cross pollinate fairly readily.

As for identifying a strain you have bought; only experience can teach you that.

 

I think it's just random... They say that theres recessive traits in each plants, and dominant traits. Wouldn't that make it completely random?

I mean, a plant could be passed on for 5 generations through it's seeds but it's always going to be a different plant...

I figure it's all bullshit and just whatever the plant looks like, people decide that that's what it should be.

 

Not at all; some breeders do breed for several generations before they get the product just right...

Dominant and recessive genes do not exactly equate to random; a breeder that knows what they are doing will recognise the desirable and less desirable traits of the plants early on in the grow process, and splice them accordingly.

Ask a Dutch breeder; they have rules to adhere to over there with regard to quality; 'random' simply would not be good enough for Dutch customers... or for me, for that matter!