L33t
Well-known member
Regarding F1s vs F2s ,
F2 will never be the same as the F1s.This doesn't mean much though , you can do great breeding and find very good plants in F2 population.
As far as differences..
If you cross say an Afghan to a Haze in the first , F1 generation you can get a good variation of Afghani expressive plants but you also get Haze expressive plants and plants that are somewhere in between genetically and express traits from both sides . You will basically end up having all the possible variations if you grow a large enough population. But gene dominance plays a role here and some plants pass their genes and they are expressed more than the other parent's , these plants are the ones called the dominant parent , but generally you will get both extremes in the F1s and also 'in betweens' .Now depending on the work thats been done with the strain from the breeder ( with the parents ) , you will end up with a number of 'phenos' or more correctly , groups of (similar) genotypes with similar phenotypic expressions. The breeder's goal is to find the right parents to make the F1s , that when combined they give the best possible results and carry the desired traits and qualities .
Usually this also includes stability among other qualities . In simple words ..the task of the breeder is to get as many 'keepers' in this F1 population as possible. So that the grower gets to taste the plant that the breeder had in mind with all the desired traits and without sorting through too many plants .
Now if you go and make F2 seed from those F1 AfHz plants, the F2 seed you're making is 'AfHz x AfHz' seed. The variation now will be greater and you will see many differences but usually almost none now will be exactly the same as the F1s.This is the usual case , but not always , ie breeding with some ibl/landrace etc etc. The reason you will see such variation in the second gen (f2) is the natures' first reaction / attempt to avoid inbreeding probs by throwing out all possibles. This ensures that even if the population is remote there will be enough variation to keep the strain strong over time . After time if no fresh blood is introduced inbred depression will show and the vigor will decrease as well as the resistance to health/pest probs.
This is cause all are now 'AfHz x AfHz' and not 'Af x Hz' like the F1s (where the parents are completely different lines not 'the same'). Different genetic make up, but could say quite similar still. They wont be exactly the same as the F1s but one can find plants , equally good or even 'better' (but more selection is needed) which is subjective and depends on what one looks for in a plant as different people breed differently towards other traits and other qualities.
The good thing with F2s is that they come from the good selected parent (F1) so there is some sort of quality control already. You can make hell lots of them and sort through , taking your time and selecting from large groups.You can breed towards selected/desired traits and go on to f3s f4s or do other type of breeding work , ie to avoid inbred depression problems , vigor loss , or stabilize etc etc etc The bad thing is they usually are not what you look for but they are a good start for breeding The other disadvantage is that the possibilities to find the intended pheno that the breeder had in mind , and the chances to find something that is similar to one of the F1's parents are now less. The F1s are 'Af x Hz' so its easy to find an extreme , say Afghan expression but with F2s its now 'AfHz x AfHz' so you need to be more 'lucky' to land on a Afghan plant .This is cause now you need to find a plant that has Afghan dominant expression from both the parents , the AfHz male and AfHz female , so you basically need more plants to find it compared to the F1s which are a direct Af x Hz cross and all you need is Afghan dominance from only the one side to get the desired Afghan dominant plant .
F2 will never be the same as the F1s.This doesn't mean much though , you can do great breeding and find very good plants in F2 population.
As far as differences..
If you cross say an Afghan to a Haze in the first , F1 generation you can get a good variation of Afghani expressive plants but you also get Haze expressive plants and plants that are somewhere in between genetically and express traits from both sides . You will basically end up having all the possible variations if you grow a large enough population. But gene dominance plays a role here and some plants pass their genes and they are expressed more than the other parent's , these plants are the ones called the dominant parent , but generally you will get both extremes in the F1s and also 'in betweens' .Now depending on the work thats been done with the strain from the breeder ( with the parents ) , you will end up with a number of 'phenos' or more correctly , groups of (similar) genotypes with similar phenotypic expressions. The breeder's goal is to find the right parents to make the F1s , that when combined they give the best possible results and carry the desired traits and qualities .
Usually this also includes stability among other qualities . In simple words ..the task of the breeder is to get as many 'keepers' in this F1 population as possible. So that the grower gets to taste the plant that the breeder had in mind with all the desired traits and without sorting through too many plants .
Now if you go and make F2 seed from those F1 AfHz plants, the F2 seed you're making is 'AfHz x AfHz' seed. The variation now will be greater and you will see many differences but usually almost none now will be exactly the same as the F1s.This is the usual case , but not always , ie breeding with some ibl/landrace etc etc. The reason you will see such variation in the second gen (f2) is the natures' first reaction / attempt to avoid inbreeding probs by throwing out all possibles. This ensures that even if the population is remote there will be enough variation to keep the strain strong over time . After time if no fresh blood is introduced inbred depression will show and the vigor will decrease as well as the resistance to health/pest probs.
This is cause all are now 'AfHz x AfHz' and not 'Af x Hz' like the F1s (where the parents are completely different lines not 'the same'). Different genetic make up, but could say quite similar still. They wont be exactly the same as the F1s but one can find plants , equally good or even 'better' (but more selection is needed) which is subjective and depends on what one looks for in a plant as different people breed differently towards other traits and other qualities.
The good thing with F2s is that they come from the good selected parent (F1) so there is some sort of quality control already. You can make hell lots of them and sort through , taking your time and selecting from large groups.You can breed towards selected/desired traits and go on to f3s f4s or do other type of breeding work , ie to avoid inbred depression problems , vigor loss , or stabilize etc etc etc The bad thing is they usually are not what you look for but they are a good start for breeding The other disadvantage is that the possibilities to find the intended pheno that the breeder had in mind , and the chances to find something that is similar to one of the F1's parents are now less. The F1s are 'Af x Hz' so its easy to find an extreme , say Afghan expression but with F2s its now 'AfHz x AfHz' so you need to be more 'lucky' to land on a Afghan plant .This is cause now you need to find a plant that has Afghan dominant expression from both the parents , the AfHz male and AfHz female , so you basically need more plants to find it compared to the F1s which are a direct Af x Hz cross and all you need is Afghan dominance from only the one side to get the desired Afghan dominant plant .
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