Last week total darkness... ?

[rebel]

so I have never heard of this until lately while googling.
Is this proven or just hear-say ?
nature and outdoors don't do this , so ?

im getting ready to harvest and would like to put em in total darkness for 3 days or more if I knew this is fact that's proven or myth.

 

[ozzydiodude]

it's a tall tail. Light is were the plant gets energy to grow and mature. where it going to get the energy from to finish growing?

 

[rebel]

my thoughts also Ozzy, goes against nature

 

[7greeneyes]

Don't rob it's last bulk-building days of light, not good imo...

 

[robertr]

They do that to supposedly increase resin production.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

They do that to supposedly increase resin production.

The key word there is "supposedly". I have never seen any studies that show that a day or 2 of darkness does anything to increase resin production. I have never heard of any scientific reason that darkness would increase resin production. I personally have not found it to do anything to increase resin production.

 

[Locked]

I sure as hell wouldn't let my ladies sit for days in the dark. You want more resin production? Then grow a strain that has that trait.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I think that idea comes from the same idea about MJ plants needing a dark period to make repairs and do plant building. The idea is that the plant moves materials around during the dark time to do all of the building work to the plant. It is a farce in my opinion and experience

I have also heard that when its done 24hrs ahead of harvesting it causes more moisture to be forced into the buds to give them more mass. This is also a farce at best. 24hrs isn't enough time for the water to be turned into resin so it wouldn't help if water was pushed into the buds. Even if it did do as stated, I don't want extra moisture in my buds that will just get dried out of them.

 

[homebrew420]

This stems from the idea that glands produce resin and active compounds during the night. Ie if you ruptured a bunch of glands maybe a few days would help repair. You will get looser flowers anything after 48hrs. I promise.
Don't do this.
Peace

 

[trillions of atoms]

Cut them down when trikes say they are ready.

 

[zipflip]

I think its all an illusion to put it best. I check and otice a difference in my girls every 12 hours I check on them at lights on and off time. and each time especially late in last few weeks of flower when all is happenin , I get stoked when I open the door 12 hours later and see a noticeable diff wether be size, trich coverage etc.. I can only imagine how difference would be after a whoel wek of not sein them. of course id prolly be blown away. but instead itd prolly no diff than if id checked em every 12 hours , same change and excitement. only times x's how ever many cycles u choose to run dark and go without seein them for at the end.. anyone else see where im goin wit this tho..

 

[DrFever]

Actually here is a copy n paste from stitching institute that has proven leaving your plants in dark up to 72 hrs raised THC levels in some strains
it does make sense ,,, light destroys THC so every light on in your 12 hr cycle THC gets broken down and your 12 hr of darkness,, what ever THC the plant lost is recovered and little more THC is added and so on....... So when your plant is in darkness for 72 hrs or so THC production continues as it would in darkness the plants more or less run out of there fuels / energy as there is no light to fill plants gas tank just like running your lawn more out of gas

This is more or less the same as in which time to harvest your plant during plants light on period THC gets broken down and in darkness the plant recovers what was lost
so it is better to harvest indoor after 12 hrs of darkness giving plant enough time to recover THC what was lost,, And by harvesting right after lights on you will harvest less THC

here is the paste -------+ The Stichting Institute of Medical marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmacies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboratories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.SIMM’s growers separated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying. Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen an increase of THC of up to 30%, while CBD and CBN remained the same."

 

[Kraven]

Just my two cents but i did a side by side on the same stain/pheno and the one that was put in the dark 2 days was no different, and I'm very comfortable that my test indicate the more light the better towards the end. That has been my experience.

 

[DrFever]

Just my two cents but i did a side by side on the same stain/pheno and the one that was put in the dark 2 days was no different, and I'm very comfortable that my test indicate the more light the better towards the end. That has been my experience.

Kraven TBO you would need some lab equipment to actually test THC content sorry the average grower here or anywhere don't have the resources,, like these labs.
these places like stitching institute run under lab conditions So very control rooms and most growers rooms wouldn't come anywhere near to these rooms Hell most growers Never get there strain even close to its actual THC content So chances of you noticing a difference hahaha probably not

 

[Rosebud]

Yes, this is why we have two days of total darkness in nature, for the plants to finish...baloney.

 

[DrFever]

Yes, this is why we have two days of total darkness in nature, for the plants to finish...baloney.

Hmm Again believe what you like haha but to answer your post in nature there is 24 hrs of darkness as well as 24 hrs of light on earth i been there worked in it its fawking unreal
this is because of the tilt of the earth on its axis in the northern hemisphere could you classify that as nature ??? it happens every year hahaha
But anyways i hope we can agree upon how light degrades THC and what resin actually does for a marijuana planthttp://www.cannabisculture.com/content/inside-trichome In nature, only the strong survive, and it is hypothesized by biologists that trichomes evolved as a defense mechanism of the cannabis plant against a range of potential enemies (1). Trichomes, from the Greek meaning ‘growth of hair,’ act as an evolutionary shield, protecting the plant and its seeds from the dangers of its environment, allowing it to reproduce. These adhesive sprouts form a protective layer against offensive insects, preventing them from reaching the surface of the plant. The chemicals in the trichomes make cannabis less palatable to hungry animals and can inhibit the growth of some types of fungus. The resin also helps to insulate the plant from high wind and low humidity, and acts as a natural ‘sun-screen’ in protecting against UV-B light rays. But since trichomes contain euphoric properties attractive to humans, it may be man who has had the most influence on the plants’ development through many years of favoring strains that consistently produce more of these gooey resin heads.

 

[Locked]

Dr we appreciate you now indicating a Copy and Pate item. For the record i could see a valid argument in your post about 72 hours of darkness at the end. I would love to know if the Science backs that theory up.

 

[DrFever]

Hammy Yes science backs it up the stitching institute did the study and like they said some strains not all showed a increase in THC up to 30 percent just because nature does not really give 3 days of darkness means shat ???? growing indoor and growing in nature is two totally different ways like saying leaving a plant grow naturally will produce more then a trained plant from topping / cropping the winner in yield would go to the trained plant every time 100 out of 100 times
I sit here thinking what are the two most elements on earth ??? and Rose i guess the falls under nature being its natural and on earth oxygen and silicon yet silicon is not on the major element group ???? if you look at your hydroponic food there is no Potassium silicate and what does potassium silicate do to plants ,,,, it plays a major role in a plant as for nutrient uptake resistance to disease , drought and heat and cold temps yet i bet most growers are more worried about about adding dolomite then silicates and its being proved that by adding Potassium silicates actually increase's resin / THC i bet you,,,, Norcal uses silicates in his big grow most veteran growers do
Bottom line when people like Subcool mention about and agree about 72 hrs of darkness prior to harvest i tend to also follow there foot steps

 

[zipflip]

so be it may it be fact that light does destroy thc and all that, but honestly I truly feel the difference is so marginal that if one were a simple home grower they prolly wouldndt be able to incorporate any significant numbers to whrre one would be able to math out the difference in such a small grow, but if say doin a mondo huge warehouse grow wher esay that single gram per plant or even half gram per plant or watver times a few plants in closet vs thousands in a warehouse ... and not havin to nothing them few days but turn lights off and sit back and prepare for harvest coming..
I aint arguing the facts u found and posted up in anyway. im just sayin im bettin its a marginal diff. maybe like u said tho maybe more strain dependant also as far as if it makes any diff or not.
I geuss I just always looked at it like say u aint seen ur neice or nephew in few months and next time u se him he loks like he grew like a weed overnight, but if u wer to be round him/her every single day u prolly wouldn't be...
im stickin wit "the difference is marginal if any at all-strain dependant as well"
and for the record tho I have done the whole 2-4 days darkness before harvesting many times over the many years and some strains over an over and honestly like I said I feel iits more a illusion if ur actually visually seein the difference. - per my stoned analogy of the nephew/neice thing. LOL

 

[DrFever]

Zip you are correct not many growers get right into the THC they grow till there trics are 30 percent or what ever and chop and chances of getting even close to the THC content the strain is capable of getting again most growers will never get it there anyways and for the average grower who would try this with out tons of lab tests again which would cost a arm and a leg????
we will never really know i have done 48 hrs of darkness prior which i cannot say it worked or didnt i know i worked for my time schedule for chopping
Also it was not tested and usually all my weed turns out wicked anyways hahaha so my buyers have told me hell before i even chopped buyer would hand me 5 - 10 k to insure he was getting it
But it does make some sense if you really open your mind to it light degrades THC so after 12 hrs believe it or not your plant has less THC / resin glands as it was doing its job protecting plant from heat and UVB light but plant still photosynthesized charged it batteries then in plants dark period started using its stored food and energy to move starches and sugars through out the plant in order to repair it self as well make more THC

plants believe it or not are more efficient in the dark cycle here is a post i found online 60 hrs of darkness and his plant Hey guys, well my plant is about at hour 60 of a 72 hour dark period right before I chop her... And I am noticing quite a bit of new pistils shooting out of some calyxes.
My plant is an unknown strain but is def. more indica looking, week 8 of flowering, thinking of harvesting her at week 8 because leaves are really looking sad and the sugar leaves look like they are starting to die... But the bottom half of the plant still looks green and ok. All the buds on the plant look excellent, it's just the fan leaves that are really dying off. I also have done some research and saw that indica plants tend to ripen up at week 8 and you have a week window to harvest for best potency... Trichomes are about 50%milky, 20% clear and 10% amber. My question is, should I bring it out of the dark period, and put it back on a 12/12 schedule to let that new growth grow, or just keep her in the dark a few more days and just chop her? She has gotten pretty sticky from this dark period, and I don't know if this new growth is normal right before harvest or if I take her out of the darkness and put her on a regular light schedule, will that move from dark to light screw things up????
Thanks for the help guys, i have found all my question all ready answered in this forum, but not this one!!