# Pheno hunt

> A pheno hunt is growing many seeds of one line side by side and evaluating them to select the best individual plants, which are then kept as clones.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pheno-hunt.html
- Also written: pheno hunting, phenotype hunt, phenotype hunting, pheno-hunting
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A [pheno](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pheno.md) hunt is the process of growing a population of seeds from one cross or line and choosing the best individuals. Each [seedling](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seedling.md) is a different [genotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md), so the hunt is a search for the rare plant that combines the traits you want. Winners are kept as clones ([mother plants](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/mother-plant.md)) and grown again.

## In practice

A useful hunt starts with enough seeds for the trait you want. For a trait in 1 in 10 plants, 30 seeds gives you about a 96% chance of at least one hit; for 1 in 50 you need well over 100. Take a cutting from every candidate before flowering so you can keep the winner. Grow everything in the same conditions, number each plant, and score traits with notes and [photos](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/photoperiod.md): vigour, structure, pest resistance, flowering time, aroma in late flower and after cure, yield, and lab results if possible.

Then rerun the finalists as clones. A plant that won the first round because it sat in the best spot often loses the second. Cull any plant that shows [intersex](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hermaphrodite.md) flowers, however good it smells.

## Don't confuse with

- **Pheno (slang)**: the individual plant, "the gas pheno"; the hunt is the process.
- **Breeding**: a hunt selects from what is there. Breeding makes new combinations and stabilises them.

## Related terms

[Selection](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/selection.md), [Phenotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phenotype.md), [Cloning](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cloning.md), [Test grow](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/test-grow.md), [Selection pressure](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/selection-pressure.md)

## Read more

- [Selection and pheno hunting: sample sizes and scoring rubrics](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/selection-pheno-hunting.md)

## Sources

1. Falconer DS, Mackay TFC. 1996. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics, 4th edition. Longman, Harlow. ISBN 978-0-582-24302-6
2. Allard RW. 1999. Principles of Plant Breeding, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. ISBN 978-0-471-02309-0