Splitting the stem

[Novice]

I was reading an article yesterday about slitting the base stem of a plant and putting a pencil, chopsticks, etcetera into the slit to keep the sides from touching near the end of flower cycle to improve trichrome production. Anyone ever tried this?

 

[Rwise]

I have not done this either, but I lost production on 2 plants this year as botrytis got in through damaged limbs and the trunk was being eaten by it from the inside. Both of these plants suffered from fluffy bud syndrome. IF I was going to try this I would have to seal and disinfect the wound so bad things cant get in.

 

[dilvish]

can you post a link to the article?

 

[PLreef]

I've read about this method before but to be honest I'm too chicken shit to try it. 😆

 

[GuitboxTom]

Novice, stem splitting is, as I understand, an extreme or advanced technique. That said, I tried it in 2 of 5 Northern Lights auto plants, last grow. They took 16+ weeks and I was seeing some clear and many just cloudy trichomes. @ a week after the split I did see some more white and less clear ones. This split did not seem to harm the plant as I initially suspected it might. I also flushed one of these plants with ice water. Was any of this effective? I have to think so, even though none of it has been tested or measured as I don’t have the lab to do so. I did make brownies with a -25% “standered” potency canabutter from bud of said plant. These brownies received reviews from 3 seasoned (all in our late 60s) tokers. They all said “way too strong!” So I cut the potency in half and t seems good to me. This may indicate positive results. I’m no expert but I thought I would share the info hoping that it could be of help or interest.

 

[Gingerbeard]

I pinch my plants' trunks and bud branches as they grow. It is not uncommon to have an inch long hole in the trunk or main branch when I do. I pinch between nodes as soon as I can get my fat fingers in to do so. Sometimes I'll have a cross hole going through (x,y) like. Splitting a stem hasn't been an issue for me, but I manipulate the plant as it is growing. Purposely cutting a hole in a growing stem seems like a bad idea. Rwise mentioned rotting. Unless the environment is sterile, soil, too, and would remain sterile until the plant is healed, I wouldn't risk it.
In the picture, had I pinched a little harder, each of these splits would have made holes all the way through..
Supercropping! That's the word we're looking for!

 

[Novice]

The article I read is from the I Love Growing Marijuana (ILGM) site, which is one of Nebula and Sirius’ recommended seed banks. The article is titled, “How to Grow Huge Marijuana Buds”. Scroll to “BONUS: Split the Stem”. The link to the article is: https://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/growing/grow-huge-buds/

 

[GuitboxTom]

I do believe Nubula mentioned stem splitting on this web site as well. I tried it because my plants got a very slow start and at the harvest window they looked much better and strong, with good chunky buds. I figured I have plenty so why not give it a try on one or two. It’s a plant, not my grand daughter!
In nearly 50 years gardening experience I’ve learned that some plants respond well to strategic stress and pruning. With weed the seeds are far more expensive than several flats of started vegetable plants. So stress weed only when the plant is otherwise healthy. Also, these people on this forum are excellent and know what they are talking about. I tend to take risks, but was surprised at how well my NL AUTOs responded to stem splitting etc... Oh, and I used DE sprinkled around the top layer of soil and I like to keep a spray bottle of peroxide solution(@50% H2O) on hand to keep mold and bacteria down.
When all is said and done I think ample Light is the most important thing you can provide for great potent buds! As with “climate change”...(It’s the sun stupid).