Hermaphrodite marijuana! What to do and why do it?

For a cultivator it´s vital to recognise the signs of hermaphroditism in a plant, as it can ruin a home grow.

A hermaphrodite plant is one that develops both feminine and masculine flowers. This process is not exclusive to cannabis and is actually quite common in nature. The result is that the quality and quantity of the final product are influenced by the production of marijuana seeds.

To detect these changes in time, the plant should be inspected frequently to identify changes that may be a symptom of hermaphroditism. These inspections should be done particularly regularly during the start of the flowering stage

Why does a plant become hermaphrodite?

There are two main causes for this phenomenon:  The genetic inheritance of the plant on the one hand, and environmental issues on the other. When it comes to a genetic issue, the only prevention the grower can take to prevent the emergence of hermaphrodite plants would be to ensure to buy cannabis seeds online from a marijuana seeds bank of quality with stabilized genetics and to avoid seeds with polyploidy . 

The emergence of hermaphrodite cannabis due to environmental stress includes many more factors. Elements or care that can cause stress in a plant include aspects  of the normal care cycle of a cannabis plant, such as pruning, watering, transplantation, etc. It is very likely that when a plant feels that the conditions for its flowering will be difficult, it will become hermaphrodite. If a cannabis plant senses that its flowering time is going to be very short, it creates male flowers so that they can pollinate the females in the shortest possible time.

The early stages of hermaphroditism can be detected in the plant when a series of pistils with an elongated shape are observed. If the signs of hermaphroditism appear later, in the flowering phase, they will appear in the form of yellow banana-shaped flowers. The more plentiful these ‘bananas’ are, the more serious the problem in the  hermaphrodite marijuana plant. If the occurrence of male flowers occurs during the peak of flowering, male flowers should be removed with tweezers, so that the number of males is reduced. You should also wash the place where the flowers were with a little water, so that the pollen remnants of this male flower disappear. 

When to cut the hermaphrodite marijuana plant? 

If male flowers continue to appear, the plant will have to be cut. If the grow is not limited to one plant, it should be removed from the space where the other plant is located. The plant should also be cut if the male pistils were very abundant. 

How to prevent a plant from becoming hermaphrodite? 

The only option is to avoid stressing the plant as much as possible and pay close attention to the parameters in which the plant is developed. The following aspects are those that should be specially controlled.

– Lighting: photoperiod changes or photoperiod improper for the phase of the plant.
– Watering: excess or lack of irrigation.
– Root damage: during transplantation, for example
– Ambient temperature: the ideal temperature should not exceed 27 ° C, too high a temperature can create stress to the plant.
– Correct time of pruning: do not prune during peak flowering period, but preferably during the growing phase 
– Use of fertilizers and pesticides
– Hygiene: care must be taken to ensure that the plant develops in hygienic conditions.
– Plagues: can be cause of hermaphroditism.