Drug encyclopedia

Since pollen from this strain is sterile, female plants don’t need to be detasseled by hand or machine, saving farmers millions of bucks yearly. Unknown to corn breeders, concealed in this improved strain was an intense vulnerability to the mutant leafblight fungus. Total disaster was evaded by the fulltime efforts of plant breeders to develop a commercial strain from aside from Texas plants.

It took 3 years to develop and reproduce enough resistant seed to supply all who required it. We are also lucky that corn breeders could rise to the challenge and had maintained seed reserves for breeding. If patented half-breed strains of cannabis are produced and gain popularity, a similar scenario could show up. Many pathogens are known to infect cannabis and any one of them has the potentiality to reach pandemic proportions in a genetically uniform crop. We will be able to not and shouldn’t stop plant improvement programs and the usage of cross-breed strains. we should offer a reserve of genetic material in case it is needed in the future. Breeders can only combat future issues by depending on primitive gene pools contained in native strains. If local gene pools have been squeezed out by competition from patented commercial hybrids than the breeder is powerless. The forces of mutation and natural selection take millenia to change gene pools, while a cannabis blight could spread like wildfire.

As Weed conservationists, we have to fight the further amendment of plant patent laws to incorporate cannabis , and initiate programs straight away to gather, catalogue, and propagate disappearing strains. Weed preserves are required where each strain can be readily cultivated in areas resembling local habitats. This’ll help scale back the selective pressure of an introduced environment, and preserve the genetic integrity of each strain. Currently such a programme is a long way from becoming fact and rare strains are disappearing quicker than they can be saved. Only a few dedicated analysts, cultivators, and conservationists are involved with the genetic destiny of cannabis. It is sad a plant with such guarantee should be involved in an age when extinction by the hands of humans is unexceptional. Responsibility is left with the few who will have the sensitiveness to end genocide and the foresight to preserve cannabis for generations yet to come.