Trichome Microscopy

[TanzanianMagic]

Exploring the fascinating development of cannabinoid-producing trichomes - Zamir Punja, PhD
Medicinal Genomics



Mentioned in this video:

(The Plant Journal, NIH) Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation

Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation - PubMed

The cannabis leaf is iconic, but it is the flowers of cannabis that are consumed for the psychoactive and medicinal effects of their specialized metabolites. Cannabinoid metabolites, together with terpenes, are produced in glandular trichomes. Superficially, stalked and sessile trichomes in...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[flylowgethigh]

The movie does a good job of showing what happens to the trics on the plants I grow. The heads shrivel up like the terps are being 3vaporated away. I wish I knew how to avoid that.

Digging deeper into that link associated with the video, …. UV doesn’t help flowering. What about IR?

Indoor grown cannabis yield increased proportionally with light intensity, but ultraviolet radiation did not affect yield or cannabinoid content - PubMed

Cannabis (<i>Cannabis sativa</i>) flourishes under high light intensities (LI); making it an expensive commodity to grow in controlled environments, despite its high market value. It is commonly believed that cannabis secondary metabolite levels may be enhanced both by increasing LI and exposure...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

The movie does a good job of showing what happens to the trics on the plants I grow. The heads shrivel up like the terps are being 3vaporated away. I wish I knew how to avoid that.

I occasionally still look for the study I read on trichome cell structures and growth patterns. It explained all this and I'm unable to find it or other relevant studies lately.

The cells which make up trichomes can only stretch so fast. When your plant is producing terpenes and cannabinoids too quickly (Think more terpenes during stress than perhaps cannabinoids) the cells making up the stalk or the bulb will split, evaporate/secrete resins and look desiccated/shriveled.

Heat is your main enemy, the same enemy which vapes off the more fragile monoterpenes (you reaaally want to keep around) and makes your room smell so nice.

 

[exploziv]

We could say temperature and humidity are important for that, but my guess is we could just simply say VPD is important! Things won't vaporize as easy when they are pressured from the outside, right??

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Terpene production rises with heat. I really don't believe outside vapor pressure will keep a cell from rupturing and becoming desiccated.

Case in point, you can see close ups of the trichomes on my plants and they're in perfect condition. Considering I grow at <70F and 20%RH, I'm waay off the VPD charts with extreme transpiration.