A Natural Born Champion from Sweet Seeds®
Words: Tommy L. Gomez
Photos: Tommy L. Gomez and GreenForce
The journey to glory is often paved with dedication and hard work, and in that sense, our hobby is no exception. With the determination and perseverance of both a great cannabis grower and the R&D Department of Sweet Seeds®, one of the seedbank’s new releases, Diablo Rojo XL Auto® (SWS110), achieved the 1st Place as Best New Autoflower Strain 2024 at the Autoflower World Cup, recently celebrated in Barcelona. In this article, you can read the full story about this strain, the award, and the grow operation that led to victory.
In November 2023, a highly respected cannabis grower from Portugal, GreenForce, obtained exclusive access to a few seeds from several strains that Sweet Seeds® would later release in early 2024. He successfully harvested these seeds by early February, ensuring that the buds were dried and cured in time for the competition. The event occurred on Saturday, March 16th, at the OG Club in Barcelona, coinciding with Spannabis.
Training for the World Cup
For this occasion, only one seed of Diablo Rojo XL Auto® was used, so it was a one-shot wonder that sprouted a mere 36 hours after being placed between two wet paper towels. The grower reported that the plant was grown hydroponically alongside three other autoflowering plants within a confined space measuring 120×120 cm. A Zeus 465w Pro 2.9 µmol/J LED system from Lumatek provided illumination during both the vegetative and flowering stages. The growing medium consisted of a 70% coco coir blend and 30% perlite.
Throughout most of the plant’s life cycle, the lamp-to-plant distance was maintained at approximately 60 cm, and the hydroponic system used was sourced from The Bucket Company, featuring four 11-litre containers. Diablo Rojo XL Auto® displayed remarkable vigor and excellent health from its early stages. Approximately 30 days after the appearance of the cotyledons, the plant started to produce pistils that densely clustered together with the calyxes to form the first flowers a week later.
Diablo Rojo XL Auto® began revealing its beauty at this juncture, showcasing magnificent purple hues in the first calyxes, resulting from a high concentration of anthocyanins. Notably, these colorful characteristics are intrinsic to the genetic makeup of this autoflowering strain, solely attributed to anthocyanins. Hence, the vibrant purple buds develop naturally without exposure to low temperatures or nutrient deficiencies.
