24/48 hours of dark before harvest?

[pilot90]

hey guys , Ive heard of 24 to 48 hours of darkness before harvest but havent tried it and just wanted to get some opinion on the matter. From what i gather its suppose to put on a lil weight? Anyway let me know you think. thanks

 

[Malcolm]

I don't think it adds any weight but some say it speeds up the onset of flowering. I would just start them on a twelve-twelve day/night schedual and begin the countdown from that day until finish. Weight is acheived through good nutes, sufficient lumens, sufficient air exchange and/or the addition of Co2. Also the strain itself will dictate whether or not you will get a good yield. If it is a strain with low yield genetics, than nothing you do will increase what just is not within the plant itself to produce. Spacing is also important. Try not to cram the plants to tightly. You want to allow good airflow around the plants and the light to reach all growth. I like to trim the first six to eight inches from the bottom to allow only the tops and just below to get the illumination. When left on the plant and under low level lighting, this growth amounts to nothing more than flimsy flowers which are a pain in the ass to trim. Removal amounts to larger top growth as all the energy goes to where it is needed most. This applies mainly to container growing more so than hydroponics. Hope this helps...
Malcolm...

 

[pilot90]

I think you missunderstood my post, I mean before harvesting.....

 

[PrairiePoet]

Many folks put the plants into 24/48 hours of darkness before switching to flowering 12/12.

I think the thought is to push them a bit more into flowering. There are hormones released when the plant has more than 11 to 13 hours of darkness that sets the plant into flowering stage.

I've never tested, but still do 36 hours.

 

[mikey232]

I've tryed it both ways many times and it made no dif. In flowering time speed or weight it's just what people like to do and there style of growing. Choose what you like in the matter because it's all the same it just matters what our comfortable with.

 

[HipsterDoofus]

The practice of a period of darkness before harvest is said to cause the existing trichomes to produce up to 30% more THC. More potency, not more weight.

 

[pilot90]

thanks mikey, was just curios if there was any real benifit from it...

 

[pilot90]

well thats very interesting hip, never heard that before. thanks for your input...

 

[Phantom911420]

72Hrs Darkness before harvest:
increases THC in the Bud
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. ​