How do you get a completely stable but heterozygous outcome? These things would seem to me to be mutually exclusive?
The limiting factor here is the ability to make a selection, and the fact than most ‘elite cuts’ are the result of pollen chucks and then growing numbers and picking a good pheno.
Trying to recreate an elite cut in seed form is just a recipe for lots of work without success. Too many random variables and not enough precision in the ‘breeders eye’ method that most of us use for selection.
A plant is very rarely homozygous for every trait, but to breed true it should at least be heterozygous for the traits of interest no? Trying to achieve wholesale uniformity is rarely the goal, but rather it’s a case of focusing on the specific traits you are after and fixing those so that they are reliably expressed, at least that’s my approach anyways.
I guess it’s a preference thing, but I tend to like a strain that is a known quantity and will consistently give the traits I’m after and I try and work towards that as a goal, it it consistency passes the traits down then all the better because it’s less work.
A cross is more than a binary sum of their parts sure, as you mentioned epistatic effects via your stress testing may play a role as will each plants combining abilities, some great plants just don’t make good offspring no matter what you try.
Just a dude who likes growing good plants, no more no less.
I’m an Aussie mate; we often sound like we talk in absolutes even when it’s not intended lol. It’s all about learning bro. Now back to the regular program 