Autoflower Breeding Question: Duckfoot X Snowryder

So I am 3 generations deep into this project of making my own autoflowering duckfoot strain. Obviously, the first generation were the parents, F1 was the hybrid (neither webbed nor auto) and I inbred those. This generation, F2, is about 25% webbed, which fits the Mendelian prediction charts probability perfectly.

What isnt lining up is the amount of full autoflower plants. The projection shows 25% of the plants should be autoflowering (meaning 6.5% should be both webbed and auto). As of now, I have just one beautiful, webbed, autoflowering female. I have a few more males showing clear and prominent pre- flowers, but not fully flowering yet. Im running 18/6 and it is about week 4 going on 5. If you count the semi- flowering males then we do indeed have the proper number of autos, but they are stuck in some kind of freaky limbo.

So, what to do? I have read online people saying to switch to bloom nutes and, since Im all organic, I have made sure that the plants have plenty of nutes bio available for flowering. Ive also been letting the "males" hang under the BIG BULB (the sun) when weather is favorable, as some say it is a function of how much growth/light power the plants have gotten that triggers auto flowering to begin. I don't have any basis to support this other than reading articles from other knuckleheads on the interwebs.

So, here is what I may do: I will wait 1 more week before getting drastic, keep giving the boys plenty of sun and hope they flower. I won't change the light cycle because if that is what they respond to, they are likely photosensitive. If, after one week, the boys arent flowering out, I will spray the female's lower branch with giberilic acid and force some male flowers... not ideal though because I wanted male and female plants for seed stock. I can always go back later though and back cross the femmed F3 seeds with a true auto male from F2... if I can get one to pop.

I am also considering giving the reluctant males 24- 48 hours of total darkness then returning to 18/6 cycle. The theory being that these may be "intermediate" and may need the darkness to "kick off" flowering but may maintain flowering at an 18/6 regimen.

What do you all suggest? Has any body else run across "reluctant" autoflowers as I am experiencing? Is there a way (other than the snake oil tricks Im already trying) to kick off the reluctant males without changing light cycle? Is it best to just start making my lady grow nuts now?

I may spray with giberillic acid today and just wait and see with the males. I can obviously just cut off the sprayed branch if I get the male flowersin a few weeks.

Thanks for your time.

Also, thought I should add that I topped the males today thinking that maybe they will stress and work on flowering over veg. Silly I know

If you inbred the snowryder you will probably end up with a lot of photoperiod plants it's not a stable auto strain. If you used the reg snowryder seeds like I did, the genetics are only 50% auto at best.

Dendrophilly said:

If you inbred the snowryder you will probably end up with a lot of photoperiod plants it's not a stable auto strain. If you used the reg snowryder seeds like I did, the genetics are only 50% auto at best.

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Interesting. Not denying your experience at all but mine have been 100% autoflower so far from the parent line of snowryders on down to some seeds I bred. It is definitely possible though that autoflowers may be a non- Mendelian trait, like eye color. Certainly that is what my current project is bearing out.

Okay so not that Ive had much feedback in this regard, but here is what happened. Giberillic acid solution has been applied to one branch of the female. In one week, if the males haven't flowered, I will plan to self pollinate. I'll still keep a couple of preflowering males around in case they decide to flower late, but likely there will be self-femmed seeds. Either way, that's a win but not sustainable in the long run.

Next, a new batch of this generation of (non- femmed/F2) seeds will be popped until a male, webbed auto shows up. Pollen will be collected, used to pollenate a femenized (F3) plant. The new seeds from that plant will be sprouted and back- crossed with the pollen of the father, hopefully helping to ensure a stable strain. Thoughts?

Subbed for interest

Are you using the snowryder fems or regs to start your project?

Fem out a female .... Spray a lower branch at about the time it has sexed ( pistils ) for about 10-20 days ( give or take ) with CS or STS . Male nuts ( LADYNUTS ) will begin to form. Once that happens , let the pods mature a bit until they look like they are gonna split .
Harvest the pollen carefully and DUST another branch of another flowering girl or SAME plant. If you pollinate a female with female , you get FEMMED seeds .

I make autos this way ... PLUS you can keep the strain going with more seeds and you can pollinate another Auto with that pollen for crosses.

Easy Peazy lemon squeezy .

Dendrophilly said:

Are you using the snowryder fems or regs to start your project?

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Regs my friend.

Majikoopa said:

Regs my friend.

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If you do some research on the snow ryder regs and it's commonly showing up as a photo period strain. If you crossed it with a photo it's going to take longer to stabilize as an auto. Longer than it would have had it been a stable auto strain to begin with. You've got your work cut out for you now, it's just going to take a generation or two more than you expected I'm assuming.

Dendrophilly said:

If you do some research on the snow ryder regs and it's commonly showing up as a photo period strain. If you crossed it with a photo it's going to take longer to stabilize as an auto. Longer than it would have had it been a stable auto strain to begin with. You've got your work cut out for you now, it's just going to take a generation or two more than you expected I'm assuming.

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Just get a snowryder autoflowering phenotype an use that it's got to be hybrid

@1God777
I dont think it matters what phenotype is showing up they all came from the same genetic background. Snowryder is a hybrid strain and not the best place to work from if you are trying to stabalize your own hybrid.

I have two going right now. These are snow ryder regular autoflowering seedlings.

I hear the fems of this strain are more consistantly automatic.

My snow ryders regs are acting like the rest of the pack, very vigourus dense growth but no sign of preflower after a month makes me think these are not auto.