# Reciprocal cross

> A reciprocal cross repeats a cross with the parents' roles swapped (A × B, then B × A) to test whether the seed parent affects the offspring.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/reciprocal-cross.html
- Also written: reciprocal crosses, reverse cross, reversed cross
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Supported
- 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 reciprocal cross repeats a cross with the sexes reversed: if the first cross was plant A (female) × plant B (male), the reciprocal is B (female) × A (male). For ordinary nuclear [genes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/gene.md) the two should give the same offspring. Differences point to maternal effects, organelle (chloroplast or mitochondrial) inheritance, or sex-linked genes.

## In practice

In cannabis, a reciprocal requires a female and a male of each "side", or reversing a female to supply pollen. Breeders sometimes note that a cross made one way round grew differently from the reverse. Organelles are inherited mainly through the seed parent in most flowering plants, and genes on the [X and Y chromosomes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/xy-sex-determination.md) are inherited differently by sons and daughters, so differences are possible. Claims of large differences in cannabis are mostly anecdotal; few controlled comparisons have been published.

Breeders also say "reversed cross" or "the reverse" when naming. Good records state which parent was the seed parent, because the reciprocal is not automatically the same seed.

## Don't confuse with

- **Sex reversal**: chemically inducing pollen on a female; a different meaning of "reversed".
- **Backcross**: crossing back to a parent.

## Related terms

[Cross](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cross.md), [P1](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/p1.md), [XY sex determination](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/xy-sex-determination.md), [Feminised seed](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/feminised-seed.md)

## Read more

- [Pollination and seed production, step by step](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/pollination-seed-production.md)

## Sources

1. Allard RW. 1999. Principles of Plant Breeding, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. ISBN 978-0-471-02309-0