Quote Originally Posted by Puffzter
Yes genetics CAN degrade over time but nothing sais it will at a particular time. Its all in probability.
I have a genetic chart for every clone and plant that make it possible to follow it back to its original seed and I will never take clones to use for production that is more than 2 generations away from the original seed.

As it is now I took clones from all my seed bred plants. I put them in 12/12. 5th week of bloom I selected which one had the best traits and threw out the non corresponding clones and made mothers of the clones from that plant.
I have to be VERY unlucky to have a genetic degrade in fewer than 4-10 generations from seed purelly mathematically so if I stay at first to 2nd generation I will by all probability be in the safe from that problem. And, since a good kept mother can be kept for 5-10 years I'd say its unlikelly I will have to worry about my WW genetics for quite some time if I don't loose all my plants at the same time. Worst case I have to go to third generation cloning for some years before I do a new search for a superfemale from a seed grow.
Next step for me atm is to do a sative seed grow during the winter at some point and from there try to find a good mother as well so I have White Widow, Hindu Kush (already making a mother of that) and then a 3rd strain from a sativa I have not decided on yet. Strawberry Cough or Arjans Super Silver Haze #3 (very nice smoke and the lowest sativa in the world) as I think now. Time will tell.

Puffzter

So long as you preserve and maitain the mother then the clone, then clone of clone, the clone of clone of clone, the DNA shouldn't degrade it is completely possible to clone only from your last crop and continue that way through the cycle for years and not need a mother. I know a few old timers who have been cloning this way for 5+ and 8+ years and they have the most potent stable strains around here. Their clones will cost you easily $200 each though.