Short answer
Get the male out of the flowering room before his pollen sacs open, usually within 1–2 weeks of the first sacs showing. Then decide: keep a good male in isolation and collect his pollen, or remove him if you're not breeding. House position: males are a necessity, and they are encouraged and rewarded on GenetixBay. The breeding arithmetic is Established.
Why
Half of every seed's genes come from the father. Under the breeder's equation, the gain from selection depends on how far both parents sit above average, so using an unselected male halves your progress every generation [1].
You judge a male by his offspring. A male's resin and flavour can't be seen directly, so breeders progeny-test candidates: cross, grow out the seed, and keep the male whose daughters are good and uniform [3].
Pollen doesn't keep long. It lasts about a week in a fridge, and only pollen dried with a carrier and properly frozen has kept for months [2].
The numbers
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pollen, open air | Hours to about 1–2 days |
| Pollen, sealed and dry, fridge 2–6 °C | Days to about 1 week [2] |
| Pollen + baked flour 1:10, frozen | Weeks to months; test it [2] |
| Gain with an unselected male | Half that of a selected male [1] |
What to do
- Confirm the sex. Male pre-flowers are round sacs on short stalks at the nodes, with no white hairs.
- Move the male to a separate space with no flowering females, or close the room's air off from his.
- Judge him on vigour, structure, stem-rub aroma and sex stability, and take a cutting to keep him.
- Collect pollen on clean paper once the first sacs open, sieve it, dry it briefly, then use it or freeze it with flour.
- Record him: parents, traits and photos. On GenetixBay, register him in the Stud Book.
- If you're not breeding, remove him before the sacs open. Plant-count rules can include males, so check your local rules.
Common mistakes
- Leaving a male in the room "just a few more days".
- Binning every male without looking at him.
- Collecting pollen near flowering females or with fans running.
- Selfing a female to avoid needing a male.
Related
- Full article: Breeders vs pollen chuckers
- Articles: collecting and storing pollen · selection and pheno hunting
- Answers: when plants show sex
- Terms: male selection · Stud Book · pollen
