Ploidy

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Cannabis plants are, by nature, diploids with twenty chromosomes. At meiosis, each parent’s gamete contributes ten chromosomes to the zygote they have formed. Cannabis cells may be haploid as in gametes, or diploid.

Some researchers have wondered whether triploid, or tetraploid cannabis (cells with either 3 or 4 chromosome sets respectively) are agronomically important. In some species, polyploid plants grow bigger, yield more, or outperform typical diploid members of the same species. Some early reports touted polyploid cannabis as being more potent. This research was flimsy and unscientific at best, and ever since this report, many cannabis growers have attempted inducing polyploidy in many varieties, none leading to agronomic success.

Diploid plants are considered normal and have one set of chromosomes, which occur in pairs within each plant cell. Poyploid plants have more than one set of chromosomes per cell. Polyploid plant chromosome occur in groups of 3-4 instead of in pairs. Tetraploid plants group occur with four chromosomes in each cell.

At one time, breeders believed that polyploid and tetraploid plants would produce a superior resin-packed plant.

The polyploid characteristic can be induced with an application of colchicine. Just remember, colchicine is a poison, and polyploid plants do not contain more THC-potent resin.