Flower Photosynthesis

[JeffInCanada]

Yes, Good stuff Ace1973 All this info helps with my wondering

[Ace1973]

not a problem Catfish22 , I think about these things to, helps me to become a better grower....enjoy!

[Catfish22]

Thank you for sharing your research, I will read these as
soon as I get a chance!

I had a chance to scan those and they are quite interesting. I want to go over them better and find some threads to run down!
Thanks again Ace1973 .
🙂🌱

[Ace1973]

the reason I posted about imperfect flowers is that cannabis falls in that category, so yes cannabis flowers do absorb light and produce sugars for its survival. I hope I helped a little as this was a question i asked years ago and had to search for days to find what i was looking for.

[Ace1973]

https://www.homequestionsanswered.com/what-are-imperfect-flowers.htm

[Ace1973]

https://www.gardenguides.com/12405736-do-the-petals-on-flowers-undergo-photosynthesis.html

[Ace1973]

https://www.fragrancex.com/fragrance-information/photosynthesis-in-plants-and-flowers.html

[Catfish22]

I also like the airflow hypothesis, I believe that may be a bigger factor in trichome production than light.
I believe that trichomes are produced to catch pollen, there really isn't any other reason why the plant would use valuable energy to produce them.

Just my guess in the big puzzle. 🙂🌱

[DeadlyFruit]

Great question. I don’t have an answer, just supposition. I think a combination of light and air flow triggers the plant to plump up the bud to receive pollen - basically it interprets the light and air to indicate it is a very likely candidate area for pollen. I would speculate that air flow is even more important than light in this process because that is what will bring the pollen.

Slightly related, I once read a couple articles that specify leaves can conduct photosynthesis from their bottom side (albeit less efficiently) as well as the top. I say slightly related because it means even without defoliation more light than we realize is available to the bud sites (and I speculate photosynthesis happens at the bud site, although possibly just the sugar leaves more than anything). It is another case for airflow being the more important factor.

Again, just my speculation, but it seems logical.

[Catfish22]

I think your probably right about the leaves in the buds themselves indicating to the plant which bud sites are in optimum conditions.

[JeffInCanada]

Great question indeed Catfish22 It first went through my mind when I was learning about defoliation. There are lots of leaves right at the bud sites, even in the buds themselves (I know because I have to trim all of the damn things) I thought, if the photosynthesis energy gathered at the bud sites is used directly at that bud site then defoliation makes sense to me. Like you said, why do we keep the bud sites uncovered. That's my human brain thinking....but I have no frigging idea what a plant does (thinks). Perhaps...the sugar leaves at a bud site are "detectors" that determine how much light is reaching the site. And in turn the plant directs its' bud making super powers to that area because it knows that bud site is up high in the sun and it a good spot to make lots of seeds. To be clear, I do not know for sure how it works. I only know that the uncovered bud site locations get fat This happens with LST to...tie the big main soldier down and the rest of the little soldiers step up and take over the lead. Somehow the plant knows where to put it's energy. I'd love to know the real truth.

[OldManGrower]

Very interesting question! My best guess is that the buds, which I believe, are largely a conglomeration of small leaves need the light to reach fruition.

[Catfish22]

I'm wondering how much photosynthesis actually takes place in the flower itself. My understanding is that it takes place in the leaves, if so, why do we try so hard to keep the budsites uncovered?