Controlled Pollination for Genetic Stability

Pollination Process for Lemon Cherry Cookies: The mother plants are now showing full pistil expression and are at the optimal window to receive pollen. The selected male plants have fully opened flowers and are actively releasing pollen.

Pollination is carried out manually. Each selected male is shaken directly over all receptive female plants to ensure even pollen distribution and controlled coverage across the population.

One of the most critical aspects of this phase is avoiding any unintended cross-pollination. For this reason, the process is performed using full protective clothing and masks. This minimizes the risk of pollen transfer outside the target area and keeps the pollination strictly controlled.

For this run, four male plants are used instead of a single father. From a breeding perspective, this choice is intentional.

At this stage of development, the objective is trait fixation without creating a genetic bottleneck. Using a single male would artificially narrow the genetic base, increasing the risk of fixing hidden weaknesses such as reduced vigor, higher stress sensitivity, or long-term instability.

By working with multiple, highly similar, carefully selected males, genetic diversity is preserved within controlled limits. This helps maintain overall vigor, improves resilience to environmental stress, and allows homogeneity to be achieved at the population level rather than through forced inbreeding.

All selected males come from the same lineage and show matching structure, timing, and expression. This is functional diversity, not variability.

This pollination process will be repeated two to three more times during the week to ensure consistent coverage and reliable seed set.

True stability in autoflowers is built across populations, not around a single individual or storytelling.