Auto flowering cannabis strains: What are they?

Hey guys!

Among the many categories of seed varieties available at any seed bank, Auto flowering cannabis seeds has to be the most interesting of them all!
These seeds are mostly desirable for growers who are looking to propogate a plant that will reach its flowering stage much faster than any normal cannabis strain, but I have been wondering... How exactly do they breed a strain that can grow faster? Lets find out!

Cannabis species:

Before we take a look at how auto flowering strains are bred, we will first have to understand the 3 species of marijuana plants, and how mixing these can result in some interesting strains with some unique traits.
These species are known as 1.Sativa strains, 2.Indica strains and 3.Ruderalis strains.

1. Sativa Strains:

Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to eastern Asia but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation.It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine.
Source:Wikipedia

2. Indica Strains:

Cannabis indica, formally known as Cannabis sativa forma indica,is an annual plant in the Cannabaceae family originating from Afghanistan. It is a putative species of the genus Cannabis. Many uses come from Cannabis indica, such as extraction, cultivation, cloth from the fibers, medical uses, and a plant. Cannabis indica produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).The large amounts of THC makes it most commonly used as a drug, whether it be for recreational or medical purposes.
Source: Wikipedia

3. Ruderalis Strains:

Cannabis ruderalis is a low-THC species of Cannabis which is native to Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. Many scholars accept Cannabis ruderalis as its own species due to its unique traits and phenotypes which distinguish it from Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa; however, it is widely debated as to whether or not ruderalis is a sub-species of Cannabis sativa.
Source: Wikipedia

Each of these species have a desirable set of traits that breeders are looking for, and over many years of experimenting, they have been bred amongst eachother to create what is known as Hybrid strains.

Hybrid strains:

Hybrid cannabis strains are a blend of sativa and indica strains. Hybrid strains are usually broken into three categories: sativa-dominant, indica dominant and 50/50 hybrids. Hybrid strains are frequently used to help alleviate stress, headaches and depression. Hybrids can be used at anytime of day but users should be mindful of the strains dominant traits.
Source:WIkileaf

If we take for expample the well known hybrid strain Nother Lights, this is a mix between the Afghani and Thai strains. Each parent plant was chosen for its unique traits and the end result is the Nothern Lights effect most of us know well.

Now to get back to Auto flowering strains, they are in fact also a type of Hybrid cannabis species...

So then, which species are bred to create autoflowering strains?:

Autoflowering strains are a mix between either Sativa & Ruderalis strains OR Indica & Ruderalis strains, over the years many differnt variants have been bred. The Ruderalis strain is used in the breeding process mostly for it fast flowering characteristic, making the end result a potent plant that grows fast.

Autoflowering cannabis varieties automatically switch from vegetative growth to the flowering stage with age, as opposed to the ratio of light to dark hours required with photoperiod dependent/short-day strains. Many autoflowers will be ready to harvest in less than 10 weeks from seed. Dwarf varieties can have short stature while still giving decent yield. Conversely "super autos" can take over 100 days to mature and can reach over 6 feet tall.
Source:Wikipedia

These strains are perfect for indoor growers with lights that can be kept on to meet the needs of light for these plants, they are however a bit harder to grow outdoors.

Some Pros & Cons for growing auto flower strains:

As one can imagine, growing these "auto flowering" plants come with their own set of pros and cons that the breeder must adapt to inorder to have a good and quality yield

Pros:

Quick harvests and flowering times - As these strains have traits from the Ruderalis species, they have a shortened veg time before reaching the flowering stage.
Auto flowering plants are small and compact - Another trait from the Ruderalis strain, allowing more plant(s) in a smaller spacing for growers.
No change in photoperiod required - And then one of the most important traits from the Ruderalis strain, no photoperiod is required, meaning that growers wont need to have light cycles inorder to reach and mature the buds in flowering stage.

Cons:

Size of the flowers - Size of the buds grown will vary, but because of the Ruderalis characteristics, the flowers produced will naturally be smaller than any normal cannabis plant.
Lower THC content - This may be another trait why growers prefer not to grow ruderalis strains, but because of its genetics, autoflowering strains will have a slight to sizable difference in THC content(Depending on the strain)

Conclusion:

There are quite many different hybrids availble these days, but autoflowering strains are for me the most interesting. They grow fast and allow growers to yield just so much faster and if the conditions are right, they can expect to grow even more buds!