UVB Light: What's The Real Story?

Greetings!!

I also found this on the web..

A researcher conducted a controlled experiment in a greenhouse. He lit a group of high potency plants similarly except with the addition of UVB light to some groups. He found that the percentage of THC increased in a direct ratio with the increase in UVB light. This research confirms the adage that high altitude plants are more potent than those grown at low altitudes.

If you look at old-world land races of cannabis, plants that have become adapted to the climate and latitude, the ratio of THC to CBD starts at 100 : 1 at the equator. At the 30th parallel (The Hindu-Kush Valley) the plants have a ratio of 50 : 50. At the 45th parallel the ratio is near 1 : 100. This corresponds roughly with the amount of UVB light received at these latitudes. There is much more UVB at the equator than the 45th parallel.

How can you get more UVB light to your plants? Certainly it's true that MH lamps emit more UVB light than HPS lamps. Still the amount that MH lamps emit is small. In fact, many manufacturers use UVB shielding glass to filter out most of the UVB that's produced. The UVB light the plant receives from an MH lamp does increase the plant's potency slightly at the cost of yield, but there are better ways to introduce UVB light into the grow room. They include reptile lights, which emit about 10% UVB, and tanning lamps.

Should I be adding UVB light to my grow room to increase potency? Is anyone here doing it and have you confirmed increased potency? Any suggestions on which light would be the best to get?

Thanks everyone!

Harry
 
Another great thread Moose, along with a ton of your other threads I've read. ;)

After reading through that, I think I now have a basic understanding of what is occurring.

I've also been reading that some growers are having success with Exo-Terra Repti Glo 5.0 bulbs. They are suppose to emit moderate to high levels of UVB output.

Exo-Terra Repti Glo 5.0 Compact Tropical Terrarium Lamp - Lighting - Heating & Lighting - PetSmart

I think they have a 10.0 bulb that emits even higher levels of UVB.

I was thinking that I could use these to give the plants a couple of 30 minute shots of UVB a few times a day and that would give me a more potent product. Or, can you recommend another type of light that may have a narrower spectrum of UVB that is more beneficial for increasing trichome production and potency?

Thanks!!

Harry
 
Mate, I have not looked into light intensities with UV, but I suspect that you do not need a high output, so your idea of giving bursts through the day may well work. I think the big thing to realise is that the main impact is on the psychoactivity of the THC, rather than an increase in THC. Check out the part in the elaboration where it talks about this 'activation' occurring at the base of the stalked trichome.
 
Ah, I see that article suggests that if the UVB photon is missing, there may be less "fully realized" THC, whereas the video suggested more THC would be produced. Either way, sounds like the correct amount and spectrum of UVB light will make it more better. ;)

I believe I'm going to add a couple of these CFLs to my grow room at some point.

Thanks again!!

Harry
 
Should I be adding UVB light to my grow room to increase potency? Is anyone here doing it and have you confirmed increased potency? Any suggestions on which light would be the best to get?

Thanks everyone!

Harry

YES it has been scientifically confirmed but dont be fooled by led grow light companys advertising UV they are UVA not UVB there is no such thing as a uvb led unless u only want half a milliwatt UVA has no benefit to plants that couldnt be greater acheived with violet and blue wavelengths. most people use reptile bulbs for UVB but they are only 10% so alot of light is not going to be used. what id recomend is the more dangerous phototherapy Narrow band UVB lights they have well over 5 times the concentration of the 10% uvb reptile bulbs. these are not something you leave on all day. when you use uvb i would try to replicate the sun. UVB being at its highest in the middle of the way. i turn the uvb light on in the middle of the day for a half hour and very carefully increase every couple days watching for any signs of the plant equivalent of a sun burn. the more power you use the less youll want it on. another way which will limit exposure at a giving time is be turning them on for a few minutes every hour. the most ideal would be with using two. one very low power like a reptile bulb that is left on all day and the a higher powered bulb that is turned on briefly in the middle of the day. the basis of all breakthroughs with lighting is by trying to recreate the same wavelength ratios as the sun in a given day minus the ones that the plants do not use
 
Funny because one of my first grows as a noob over 25 years ago, I used reptile uvb fluorescence lights because I had a monitor lizard and I was a stoner on a budget, lol. I knew they made plants grow awesome because I had desert plants in his terrarium.
 
Hi @420. This seems like as good a place as any to ask you a few questions. I have been researching UVB Light bars. It doesn't seem any of our sponsors really specialize in them, or maybe I missed that. I have been looking at the California Lightworks Solar System UVB. They're 24 watt T5 bulbs, and it seems two of them would work well in a 5x5.

Everyone uses them for different amounts of time. Seems many ramp up the time spent under the UVB as flower progresses. I've seen everything from 4 hours a day to 15 minutes a day. All the online info gets really confusing when you're looking for a consensus.

It seems from this thread and many others I've looked at elsewhere that people get excellent results with these type of supplemental bulbs. The science is relatively undeniable.

So my questions are these:

- did I miss a sponsor who sells these to at least check out?
- What IS a good amount of daily time under UVB? Is there a "general rule?" or "best practices?"
- How far away from the canopy is good for these? It seems most place them significantly higher than their base light.
- Is there a certain time in the flowering cycle when engaging these is preferred, and do you use them all the way through harvest?
- These lights seem to come in varying spectrums, relative to nm. Is there a best nanometer response level light you might recommend?

Any help or source material you may have would be most appreciated. Thanks!
 
Greetings!!

I also found this on the web..



Should I be adding UVB light to my grow room to increase potency? Is anyone here doing it and have you confirmed increased potency? Any suggestions on which light would be the best to get?

Thanks everyone!

Harry
the real story is that it's a scam to get you to spend more money on the hobby
 
the real story is that it's a scam to get you to spend more money on the hobby
If used the right way, it will signal the plant to increase trichome production. It's not that expensive. Studies don't lie. It's absolutely not necessary for a good final product, but I see the difference between using it (stronger final product) and not using it.
 
If used the right way, it will signal the plant to increase trichome production. It's not that expensive. Studies don't lie. It's absolutely not necessary for a good final product, but I see the difference between using it (stronger final product) and not using it.
too many variables
it could be that you put out too much of a stink with your last dump.
Yup. that can affect plant growth
All these soothsayers that say what growth will be like are liars
 
Hmmm .. I do extensive research and trichomes are Cannabis’s natural defense mechanism and it works great for me. To each their own.
I'm a n00b in terms of having studied for any of this, just using my agricultural training if you can call it that at the level I went to school back then, and my common sense and logic, and test shit.

Many of the holy houses in cannabis land are complete nonsensical in terms of how every other plant on the world works, and myths are abundant in this hobby. The amount of fucktards selling €50,- worth of plastic and some grommets for €400,- and calling it next level, is saddening. A filter screen that I can get in any industry for €5,- is €50, when its sold for sifting kief. So how is one not to become a skeptic after having grown a while.

That being said, how do you quantify the data, and determine that it works, and to what extend? You have very specific instructions, while there is no plant process that I know of that works on those intervals, so I'm curious how you arrived at your advice and what data you used. If you would want to share, please..

Questions that come to mind:
- What happens if you give more than your recommended levels?
- What happens if you go under?
- What is the difference to a plant that went without any of that?
 
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