earthwyrms
Active member
what about 21-23/13 light/dark cycles?
what about 21-23/13 light/dark cycles?
Hello,
The main benefits are greater net photosynthesis, carbon assimilation, carbohydrate partitioning, etc, and in cannabis that seems to equate to increased growth and yield. Below I posted my references on the science. I am not sure what you mean by "on" time. Each day is 28 hours, not 24; so a week is 196 hours, not 168 hours. We can change the hours of one full day (daylength plus nightlength) because cannabis isn't dependent upon circadian rhythm, it is dependent upon hours of darkness for flowering and for not-flowering.
You could order special timers do to this digitally which is a real bonus, maybe $50-100. But you could also use a regular timer because we are only changing the daylength, not the nightlength, thus once the daylength pass the 4 hour mark you can turn the dial back 4 hours, but that means you need to be there each daylength.
Here is some references from my Zotero:"16 hr Daylength: Diurnal Pn, circadian rhythms and carbon assimilation"1. “SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING OF GREENHOUSE VEGETABLES: LIMITATIONS AND PROBLEMS RELATED TO LONG PHOTOPERIODS,”
http://www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=481_54
2. “REGULATION OF ASSIMILATE PARTITIONING BY DAYLENGTH AND SPECTRAL QUALITY,”
http://ncr101.montana.edu/Light1994Conf/1_2_Britz/Britz text.htm
3. “LIGHT PERIOD REGULATION OF CARBOHYDRATE PARTITIONING,”
http://ncr101.montana.edu/Light1994Conf/1_6_Janes/Janes text.htm
4. “Independent Circadian Regulation of Assimilation and Stomatal Conductance in the ztl-1 Mutant of Arabidopsis,”
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1514476
5. “Factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis,”
http://web.archive.org/web/20030306020209/http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/2385/rate.htm
6. “Environmental effects on circadian rhythms in photosynthesis and stomatal opening,”
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m275226261246h24/
7. “COORDINATING PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVITY: CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS,”
http://www.tiem.utk.edu/bioed/webmodules/circadianrhythm.html
8. “Circadian Rhythms in Photosynthesis : Oscillations in Carbon Assimilation and Stomatal Conductance under Constant Conditions,”
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/3/831
9. “859.pdf,”
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/reprint/102/3/859.pdf
Experiments with other plant species such as thale cress and chrysanthemum indicate that most if not all plants perform best with 24 hour days. As stated above, the gain in yield caused by increased light exposure does not quite add up with the losses due later maturing or smaller growth. Simply exposing the plants to permanent light would be more efficient.
Those studies done with other species indicate that certain species seem to perform equally or nearly equally well under days with 48 or 72 h (= 2 or 3 times 24) but not with "odd" days.
Cannabis is a 'long night' plant, so it needs 10-12 hours of darkness to flower, the hours of light doesn't effect flowering, that's the job of darkness. That said, you could change the diurnal hours (length of one day) from 24 hours to 28 hours, that is what I do. I use 16/12 for flowering. For pre-flower I use 8 on/12 off; that limits stretching and helps keep internodes close, it also reduces the pre-flower time from say 14 days to 10-12 days. 8 hours is about as little daylength as is wise.
For veg I use 16/8. It's best to not exceed 16-17 hours of light a day, 18 hours can be too much in terms of reducing Pn (rate of photosynthesis), carbon assimilation and partition, etc. Running lights at 24/0 will make the Pn drop drastically after the first two-three days or so.
The info about 6 hours of darkness has to do with far-red lighting and Pf/Pfr (ie. phytochrome). It's not proven for cannabis and IMO is not worth pursuing at all, 12-14 hours of darkness per night is good.
I changed from that 32 hour diurnal to a 28 diurnal last grow. Now I am using 16/12; not 18/14. I have done a lot of research into this (more lately) and it seems 18 hours is less ideal than 16 hours. I reduced the nightlegth from 14 hours to 12 hours to shorten the diurnal considering I reduced the daylength by 2 hours.
All the best.
Oh yea,
I use an hour or darkness mid-daylength to give the plant a rest and lower leaf temp, which means I really give the plants 15 hours of light in a 16 hour daylength. For example you can put an hour of darkness starting at hour 4.5 of daylength so when you spin the timer back it basically hits half way through the day. Or you a digital timer.
I have been running this time period for about 7 or 8 grows of White Widow, bubblegum, blueberry, and now doing LSD, Lemon Skunk, and Master Kush. ChemDog/SourDiesel is on deck, and I hope to have Tom Hill's Haze right there with them on the next venture.
I don't do it for electricity - committed to the best grows I can do, I am more than willing to pay the bill. Not trying to skimp anywhere. I have always used 1000w mh for veg (24/7 - no sleep period at all) and 1000w Hps for flower. It's a dual ballast so i just switch bulbs. Just tried a 1000w dual spectrum that I am runnning now for the first time. Switched it about 20 days into flowering - just trying something new. So far so good, though I don't see any real difference in the development.
I have never really accurately compared/weighed yeilds, but from careful observation over the many months of tending, I am convinced that there is no less weight in the shorter cycle. I veg the plants to the size I want - usually pretty big. Then I flower them on the 7/12 and the product is as good quality and weight-wise as when running the 12/12.
I really do it to just speed up the harvest time. I like genetics that take 70+ days to flower and the 7/12 cycle is about 24% less time ( over two weeks less ) of flowering time. The finished product is huge, dense, and true to the genetic expectation. I have not observed any detriment at all. I suppose a theory could be that with more light energy, the flowers could be bigger, but that's hard to believe. I typically have to tie them to the ceiling to keep the bud-laden branches from breaking or tipping the resevoirs.
All in all, having grown both 12/12 and 7/12 exactly the same otherwise, it is my impression that 7/12 saves time without compromising anything. The plant is "tricked" into shorter day/night cycles.
I can't recall where the heck I was informed that 7 hrs is really as short as you should go, but it is a notion I have adhered to.
I flower using 7 on / 12 off. I veg at 24 hrs-on for up to a month to get the desired size, then use a cycle timer for the 7 / 12. Yeild has always been fantastic using 1000w. I suppose the theory is that they might get a little bigger (?) with a few more hours of sun a "day"/dark period.
Sorry for the delay .. just found this thread again. 12-on and 7-off seems like another way to speed up the 12/12 cycle. Might be useful for those sativa/haze strains. I do a 24 hr on vegetative & have never tried shortening the night cycle. I'd be inclined to do something less than 12 on, however, to ensure triggering the plant's flowering.
I use GH flora series under 1000 watts/4x4'. Always very happy, barring the invasion of some effing virus that I am now battling.
First, my lights are on at least 12h15m and probably more like 12.5on/11.5 off.
ive read where people do 5 12hour dark periods per week (that's something like 21.5on/12off). You could also do 9 dark periods per week (i think its something like 8.5on/12 off.
The plants mature based on the # of dark periods.
i would assume there is a tipping point; I would love to see someone try something like 36on /12 off (3.5 dark periods per week)
The point of altering the photoperiod is to create an artificial environment in which a more constant rate of photosynthesis is achieved. In other words, less peaks and valleys.
Once the sun comes up or the lights turn on, contrary to what you might assume, it's not as if the plants also instantly turn on to so to speak and than stay on for the entire time of exposure to light.
I know one grower / scientist with a working theory about 32 hour photoperiod.... That is 18 on, 14 off during bloom. He swears by it.
I have nothing else to add.
Finally managed to get my hands on an Exo-Terra Night Light... if the spectrum chart is correct (would be the first one I've seen from that company), then this bulb might be suitable for a far red experiment. Wondering if the additional heat does act contradictory, though. Best would be a far red LED to try but it's just a fun thing for me....
As for the Far Red at the begging of the dark period, I have found no one that tried it with any sort of succes. It kind of saddens me as a shorter night period combined with a shorter day period would shorten even more the cycle with obvious gain in optimising the yield. Yet the theory was based on the hourglass model which has been demonstrated to be at least incomplete and at worst, plain false.
Yet given the chance, I would love to sidetest all those cycle manipulation (including the Far Red thing). I am still convinced as already stated that there is still a lot to be tested and room for improvment with cycle manipulation. Breeding for shorter critical period might also be an avenue worth exploring in maximising yield.
...I honestly don't see a benefit for far red light (didn't pay it much thoughts, though) in 'unnatural' day/night schedules.
...It also might tell me the natural delay or Pr to turn into Pfr or in other words the 'real' minimal night length and not the apparent one...
does the writer mean High Far Red and Low Red is beneficiary for flowering cannabis?
i'm not sure what to make about the rest of his paragraph on that with wattage being unmentioned
Pr absorbs red, Pfr absorbs far red.
they can interconvert somehow. red helps Pr turn to Pfr.
Pfr can be bound to a protien and work on DNA (im guessing it doesn't back convert after this or is used up?)