all good questions,and ill happily explain the ifs and buts,
a male plant carnt really be identified by its strong smell due to it having the very same smell as a possible female plant,but people can some times tell them apart whilst there small and young,just by looking at the leafs and how big and bushy they are, still not always the right way, and has been a let down for many growers using this, the only way i find out the males from the females.is the growth spurt, imagine this uve got 4 plants say, there all under direct light the have the same space as each other, and no obsticles in the way of light, but 2 grow 2 inches more that the other 2, a week later there twice the size of the other 2, then thats when you know,and maybe some of you growers are maybe doubting this , thinking but what if hes got different breeds, like rudereliss, which as we know grows really big ad say over 6ft,but this is a true way of finding out these 2 early,ONTO THE NEXT QUESTION
bugs wont really do miuch to your plants other than chew little holes in the leafs, if you use a liquid called silicone which should be added to your nutrient if you get such problems , this eliminates the pests you may be getting,this will also prevent spider mite, this is a sayin were spiders lay eggs all over your crop , and webs the place, if you catch it at the right time , ya can say by by to them pesks and grow on....
within a week or 2 of growin in light medians on 12 hour you,ll start to see little white hairs around the nodes as we all say, these are the corners of the branches, and around the top stem, should be easily spotted, if you see little dots, then chook em right out, dont worry if you see them within the 2 week period , they wont of infected the females, the sooner the better,
the best light for cuttings in my opinion would be an envirolite bulb , these come in either blue spectrum i.e what you want them for clones, ect, seedings, and red for flowering, these can be plugged straight into an E40 plug adapter, screw fit,just like your lamp sort, but BIGGER, no balast required at all,they dont give of much heat at all,in fact ya can hold the bulb all day long and not get burnt....people assume plants need heat as well as light, plant can live in temps of 15 degrees aLL DAY without a problem , but within the 20 i keep it in, and at night just a tadge lower say 14-15....there a good bulb and ya can get these on ebay,for as little as 20 quid, and they last agfes, enought for a few grows.
for cloning id suggest that bulb i said, a propagator with keeps the humidity in,ad say quite a big en,and keep the flaps shut for the first week, get em nice and moist, and gradually open bit by bit, till there ready for the big bulb power,or if you want the enviroilite to carry them on then thats fine dude,
hope ive been a helping hand to you , any more questions gimme a shout
happy growing..dave