Tapering light hours leading up to harvest.

[smoorman]

I've read that leaving plants in the dark just before harvest causes them to get desperate for pollination and kick out the resin. Does anybody slowly taper lighting for 1-2 weeks prior to harvest in a quest for higher potency?

 

[ChadWestport]

I haven't heard of that or seen any documentation to support it. Which basically says, I don't know if that would work. It would be interesting to track that, it would be expensive, but I do imagine if it was a miracle THC booster, that it would be more common practice.

 

[Toker1]

Nope. You harvest before sun up (or lights on) because the plant has used up all its food created by photosynthesis. It’s beneficial to final flavor.
If you are looking to increase potency, try supplementing UV-b during flower.

 

[MeEasy]

I have definitely heard many long time growers talking and doing this 48 hours dark before harvest. They sware it adds something to the trichomes or actually adds trichomes. I haven't read any actual literature on this yet nor have I tried it so I don't know if it actually does anything. I'm sure there's plenty out there on it I've just been busy fighting with the stupid super swings in temperature we are having (3 inches of snow last week and 85° f today) while trying to setup a new tent because I've decided to come out of the closet. 🤯🤪🤔🌲😎 .... So if you try it give us an update, I'd like to know more about this 4sure thanks and good luck

 

[grouchyoldman]

There's an interesting article at this link that says:

Raise Lights during last Two weeks Again, to help make this seasonal shift a reality for your plants, you should raise your lights up 4-6 inches(4”for a 600 watt and 6”for a 1000 watt,) every week for the last two weeks. This will help create more compact and dense fruit clusters while further increasing the ripening process.

https://www.gchydro.com/pdf/GreenCoast Hydroponics-IS-GROW-0701-Advanced Growing Methods.pdf

I haven't tried it yet but it makes sense to signal "harvest time" to the plant.

-Grouchy

 

[smoorman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Ns7j0WIJM
There many discussions regarding going dark prior to harvest. Most suggest an increase in thc to varying degrees. Just like certain stressors trigger cannabis and other plants to "go for it" in order to get pollinated. My thought was if this light deprivation near the end of growth helps then why not a simulated running out of light scenario that is slowed down enough to give the plant a chance to respond? I'll keep searching.

 

[kingfish]

I have tried it several times and I honestly can't tell you for sure if it does anything to the weed. Except maybe save on electricity.