Once upon a time, the only method breeders had to isolate superior cannabis plant traits was to make basic observations regarding size, structure, or internodal distance. Breeders combined these observations with other practices, such as rubbing the stem of a plant with their thumb and forefinger in an attempt to identify desirable aromatic qualities.
Besides those few indicators, breeders were left with taking clones from, and inducing flowering on, the original plant. After the original plant was harvested, dried, and cured, breeders could decide if the clones were desirable or not. If they liked the finished product's growth characteristics and other attributes, they kept the clones to grow to make more clones, and repeated the process as needed.
