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Changing light schedules with an auto strain- in an almost random fashion?

Weed Pharma

Weed Pharma

New member
Full Disclosure- I am growing "autos" to fill the tent(s) and make use of light that would otherwise be wasted.
Plugging holes so to speak and any yield is considered extra. My system for auto's requires watering only!

I know how to grow an auto and the various schedules etc.- that is not what this question is about-

Here's a timeline.
Germinated in 4 days- then under 20/4 lights for 4 weeks-in veg tent
then to the flower tent 12/12 currently 3 weeks. (healthy, buds forming)

So what happens if I place this flowering "auto" into increased light-18/6 or 20/4?
Will it produce a bigger yield? or will it revert back to a vegetative state?
 
I think it might stress her with such varying time cycles, but I don't know much about autos. Perhaps a graduated light cycle change (maybe an hour a day) might be less stressful?
 
Here is the auto grow cycle:

weeks 1-3 - vegation stage
weeks 4-10 - flower stage

Generally with "auto's" one should keep an 18/6 cycle from seed to harvest - many grows use 12/12 in flower with the yields being some what small in amounts and bud size. Some breeder's recommend a 20/4 for their strains Buddha Seed's is one
 
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I just added two more bulbs this morning.....24/7
that's 10 40watts so far...

Screenshot_20161106-104529.png

That's my baby Tika auto lowrider #2
 
If possible you want to avoid weird light schedules just because it makes it more likely for the plant to herm (grow male pollen sacs) which can cause seedy buds. If you're going to change them, it definitely doesn't hurt to do it gradually, a little bit at a time!

Auto-flowering strains are basically on an internal clock, like everyone else said. However, even they can be shocked and affected somewhat by big light changes. I've never taken an auto from 12/12 to a longer day period, but it wouldn't surprise me if giving it a much longer day all of sudden slowed its bud growth down a little. I'm not saying it would do that, or even that I've ever seen it happen, just that it's possible. The reason I think that is because if you put an auto on a 12/12 light schedule will "hurry it along" to harvest by a week or two compared to keeping it on an 18/6 light schedule. So it wouldn't surprise me if it did it the other way around. However, it might not even notice!

If it were me I would put it on a longer day even if it did slow down flowering a little, and just do it gradually if possible. One of the best things about auto-flowering strains is they can flower even while getting several extra hours of light a day, and that means their buds get bigger, faster, than a similarly sized photoperiod strain. If you're putting auto-flowering plants on a 12/12 light schedule, you're kind of losing one of their advantages.

I personally like the 18/6 light schedule for auto-flowering plants. I feel like autos grow only a little bit faster on a 24/7 schedule, but they are also less resilient against problems. By giving them a short dark period every day, I feel like you get that perfect medium between maximum growth and health. Plus you use 25% less electricity!
 
Thank you for all the information on auto's.

It seems as though it's the total "amount" of light that contributes to auto bud development and that being the case:
I have decided to leave the auto in the flower tent (12/12) which has 2-3 times the watts available, than the veg tent (20/4).
 
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