Why Outdoor Growers Are Reconsidering Seeds

Front Row Ag technical experts discuss why many commercial outdoor growers are reevaluating the advantages of seed-grown crops. In this video, they explain how improvements in genetics and production practices are changing the seed versus clone conversation. Topics include:

• Why modern seed genetics offer greater uniformity than in the past
• The operational differences between seeds and clones
• How early hardening produces more resilient plants
• The impact of early environmental exposure on plant development
• Considerations for large-scale outdoor production and crop scheduling
• How seed-grown crops can improve consistency across large acreage
• Factors to consider when choosing the right propagation strategy

Transcript:

As outdoor cultivation has evolved, more growers are beginning to consider growing from seed instead of clones. In many situations, especially at large scale, that shift offers significant advantages.

Historically, the biggest concern with seed-grown crops was genetic inconsistency.

A field planted from seed could contain noticeable variation from plant to plant. At harvest, neighboring plants often looked different enough that they couldn't easily be processed together.

That has changed dramatically.

Modern breeding programs have produced much more uniform, feminized seed lines. Today, if you're sourcing seed from reputable breeders, it's common to walk through an entire field where plants are remarkably consistent in both appearance and performance.

As a result, one of the traditional disadvantages of seed production has largely disappeared.

There is, however, one important logistical difference.

Unlike clones, seedlings require an additional establishment phase.

When a seed first germinates, it produces two cotyledons, or seed leaves, rather than true leaves. It generally takes another couple of weeks before the seedling develops into a well-established plug comparable to a rooted clone.

That simply means crop schedules need to account for those extra weeks of early development.

Beyond scheduling, seedlings offer several unique advantages.

A clone is a piece of mature plant tissue that has spent its entire life under carefully controlled conditions. Once it's cut from the mother plant, it needs an environment that closely matches those conditions while it establishes roots.

Seedlings are different.

From the moment they emerge, they're naturally capable of adapting to changing environmental conditions.

That makes them much easier to harden off before transplanting.

Rather than keeping them in a highly protected environment, growers can gradually expose seedlings to outdoor conditions much earlier.

Young seedlings can adapt surprisingly quickly to:

• High light intensity
• Wind
• Lower humidity
• Temperature fluctuations
• Other environmental stresses

In nature, a seedling may experience only 50 µmol/m²/s of light early in the morning and over 2,000 µmol/m²/s later in the afternoon—all within the same day.

Because seedlings evolved under those conditions, they're remarkably resilient once they're given the opportunity to acclimate.

That resilience has become one of the biggest advantages of seed-grown production.

As breeding has improved, growers are now combining:

• Highly uniform genetics
• More vigorous plants
• Better stress tolerance
• Simpler large-scale production

To maximize those benefits, we encourage growers to start seedlings under relatively high light intensity while maintaining appropriate humidity and temperature during germination.

Then, as quickly as practical, begin transitioning them toward outdoor conditions.

Whether that's a lean-to greenhouse, a shade structure, or another intermediate environment, the goal is to expose the seedlings to natural conditions before they're transplanted into the field.

By the time they're planted—whether by hand, with a wheel transplanter, or behind a tractor—they've already adapted to sunlight, wind, and fluctuating weather.

The result is a much hardier plant that's better prepared for life outdoors and far more capable of handling the environmental stresses it will encounter throughout the season.