GenetixBayEST. 2009
Breeding · Breeder · 4 min read

Breeder record-keeping and naming ethics

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

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Being reviewed. Our editors are double-checking a figure in this article against primary sources. Marked passages may change.

Short answer. If it isn't written down, dated and linked to a plant ID, it didn't happen. Record every pollination, batch, test and selection. Name new work with a new, unique name; label generation and seed type plainly; and never reuse a famous name for genetics that aren't it. The strain-name mess documented in genetic studies [3][4] is largely a record-keeping and naming failure.

What's happening

Cannabis grew up outside formal plant variety systems. Names spread by word of mouth, cuts were renamed, and seed was sold under borrowed names. Genetic studies of dispensary samples found many same-named strains with genetic outliers [3], and lab data show some names are chemically consistent while others are not [4]. Good records are the fix the industry skipped.

The minimum record set

Record Contents GenetixBay entity
Plant ID, source (pack, cut, cross), germination date, sex, photos, scores GB-IND / GB-CUT
Selection Rubric scores, notes, why kept or culled Journal event on GB-IND
Pollination Female ID, male (or reversed female) ID, date, branch, pollen batch pollination event
Batch Parents, dates, seed count, feminised/regular, storage GB-BAT
Test Germination (n, %, date, method), sex check, chemotype, HLVd GB-DOC on the batch or plant
Release Line name, pedigree claim, generation, description, grow-out data GB-GEN with LIN claims
Transfer Who received seed or cuts, when transfer event

Writing a pedigree

  • Female first: (Line A x Line B), female x male.
  • Generation and method: F2, BX2 to Line A, S1, Feminised (STS-reversed Line A #3).
  • Specific individuals, not just names: Line A #3 (GB-CUT-...) x Line B male #7 (GB-IND-...).
  • Mark uncertain links as uncertain: "reported" or "unverified", with the evidence level.

Naming rules (GenetixBay practice, drawn from the ICNCP)

The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants requires that a cultivar name be unique within its denomination class, not misleading, and established by publication [1]. Applied to cannabis:

  1. New genetics, new name. A new cross gets a name no one else has used for cannabis. Search GenetixBay and the wider web first.
  2. Original name for original genetics only. "Line A" means the line as released by its originator. Your S1 or cross of it is "Line A S1 (your breeder name)" or a new name with "Line A" in the pedigree.
  3. No borrowed fame. Don't add a famous name to genetics that aren't descended from it to help sales.
  4. Don't rename a clone to own it. A clone-only keeps its name; add your selection or source as a qualifier.
  5. Don't use names that mislead about origin or effect (e.g., implying a region, a medical effect, or a breeder who wasn't involved) [1].
  6. Not trademarks of others. Avoid names that copy food, sweets or other brands. Besides being misleading, it creates legal risk.
  7. Publish the evidence with the name: pedigree claim, generation, grow-out results.

Ethics beyond names

  • Credit sources. Name the breeder or keeper of parent material where known.
  • No undisclosed reversals. Feminised status and method should be on the label.
  • Report problems. Intersex rates, off-types and low germination belong in the public record.

Males first, selfing last

House position: males are a necessity. Real breeding needs real males, selected as carefully as the females. Males are encouraged and rewarded on GenetixBay, and a well-documented male line is a prized contribution. Selfing is mostly frowned upon: it was historically an emergency measure to save a line, not a shortcut. GenetixBay holds the best breeding standards: snobby, and proud of it.

Sex stability is an ethics standard

Breeder's standard. Cannabis is dioecious and has been stable for millennia; herm-prone lines are mainly breeder error. A GenetixBay breeder (BRD-500) commits to: (1) using only mothers, reversal donors and males that ran sex-stable for at least two cycles; (2) culling every plant that herms, with its clones, and never selfing, reversing or crossing from it; (3) no repeated S1-on-S1 releases without grow-out and culling; (4) growing out a sample of every batch and publishing its herm rate (n plants, n intersex, week, conditions) on the GB-BAT; (5) not releasing a batch or line that herms under normal conditions. Releasing untested, unstable seed is "pollen chucking", and it is how herm-prone genetics spread. See diagnosing hermaphrodites, S1s and selfing and feminised seed. - Don't claim effects. Effects are "reported", never promised; no medical claims. - Respect origins. For landrace or collected material, record where it came from and whether you have the right to distribute itbeing reviewed.

Pack label checklist

  • Line name and breeder
  • Pedigree claim with generation (F1, F2, BX, S1) and evidence level
  • Feminised / regular; photoperiod / autoflower
  • Batch ID (GB-BAT) and pack ID (GB-PKG)
  • Seed count
  • Germination test result, date, n
  • Grow-out herm rate (n plants, n intersex)
  • Packing date
  • Local legal notice where required

Common mistakes

  • Paper notes that never get matched to plants.
  • Writing "Line A x Line B" without saying which individuals.
  • Publishing a name before checking it's free.
  • Deleting bad results. On GenetixBay history is append-only; corrections are new events, not erasures.

Evidence

  • Naming principles: Established (international code) [1].
  • Strain-name inconsistency in markets: Supported [3][4].
  • Record sets and label checklist: GenetixBay practice (Grower practice).

Questions this article answers

What records should a cannabis breeder keep?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

How should I name my new strain?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

Can I use someone else's strain name?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

What should go on a seed pack label?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

How do I write a pedigree?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

Is it OK to rename a clone?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

Should breeders disclose hermaphrodite rates?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

Is it ethical to sell seed from a plant that hermed?

Keep a dated record of every plant, cross, batch and test, linked by permanent IDs, so any seed can be traced to its parents. Name lines honestly: a new, unique name for new genetics, the original name only for the original genetics, clear labels (F2, BX, S1, feminised), and never a famous name on something it isn't. Names are claims; records are the evidence. Sex stability is part of the ethics: cull herm-prone plants, never breed from them, and publish every batch's herm rate.

Sources

  1. Brickell CD, et al. (eds). 2016. International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 9th edition. Scripta Horticulturae 18. ISHS. ishs.org/scripta-horticulturae/international-code-nomenclatu
  2. UPOV. Test guidelines for hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), TG/276/1. upov.int/edocs/tgdocs/en/tg276_01.pdf
  3. Schwabe AL, McGlaughlin ME. 2019. Genetic tools weed out misconceptions of strain reliability in Cannabis sativa: implications for a budding industry. Journal of Cannabis Research 1:3. doi.org/10.1186/s42238-019-0001-1
  4. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. 2022. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLoS ONE 17(5):e0267498. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267498
  5. McPartland JM, Small E. 2020. A classification of endangered high-THC cannabis (Cannabis sativa subsp. indica) domesticates and their wild relatives. PhytoKeys 144:81-112. doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.144.46700

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