3 days of darkness before harvest

[The Iconoclast]

Surprised someone hasn’t done any experiments using clones to see if it’s actually true.

I suspect no one has done it because it is bollox, and no one is interested in wasting their time. I'm more surprised that people who ask these questions just don't do it themselves. Oh right they also aren't interested in wasting their time. Is it better if someone assures them and shows them a photo of a bud?

 

[>Potato]

Why stop at 3 days go for 100% dark grow

 

[Cave Dirt Cody]

I’ve never used this technique either. Just didn’t see how in those couple of days it could produce new trichromes that would be cloudy and potent.Figured if that was the case then we’d be wanting are plants in the dark more often. Again tho idk if it’s true or not.

How does a plant produce anything without light?

 

[PMATTO924]

Completely bro science

 

[Need4Weed]

To start with, anything from "Mr Grow It," should be scrutinized closely. He hasn't been growing that long , but when I watched his video where he called it "pheno hunting," when planting different strains by different breeders ... I knew he didn't know what the fuk he was talking about. I agree that the plant will not produce new trichs in a dark period, but I'm not so sure on terpenes. I currently have my CDLC in a dark period coming up on 24 hours & I intend to chop her tomorrow. I have no ideal if it increases the terpenes or not, but it don't hurt to try, (as long as you keep humidity low enough) . Mines at 55% with temps hanging around 65F with lots of air movement.

 

[Cave Dirt Cody]

To start with anything on the “internet”, should be scrutinized closely.

Fixed it for ya.

i like Mr grow it when he has good guest on. I think he does a good job interviewing. He doesn’t get in the guests way and seems knowledgeable enough to ask intelligent questions.

 

[Need4Weed]

To start with anything on the “internet”, should be scrutinized closely.

Fixed it for ya.

A truer word had never been spoken! Thanks for the fix!
I agree, he does do decent interviews!

 

[MasonJarOG]

There was some BS on IG the other day talking about and how the dark periods produce more terps. So I said no test or lab results it’s Bro science.

reminds me of herbs now Scott who actually did lab tests on drying and he’s got the data to back up the claims his dryers preserve potency and cannabaniods. Real science!

 

[MIAutomatic]

I tried dark before harvest a few times with photos some years ago, it didn’t do anything as far as I could tell.

Dr. Bugbee says it doesn’t work, so that settles it for me.

 

[Waira]

Some of the dark period effects are true, namely the terpene level restoration, especially for outdoor plants. It's common practice in some specialty farming for flowers and herbs used in the essential oil and fragrance industries to harvest around sunrise....

Myself, I know that my girls are most stinky in the morning, less so at the end of the day... Late night visits when it's warmer than usual can be a snoot-full of goodness!
It makes sense, Sun, wind, warm/hot T's take their toll on the terp' levels through the day... some of the terp's are low molecular weight mono-terp's, which translates to lower evaporation T's and are quite volatile.... It's one reason why you're supposed to dry bud slowly over a week or so at T's best under 70F, which RH% 40-50, for the exact same reason... the cooler the T's, the lower the RH% due to reduced evaporation rate of the water as well...

As for cannabinoids, I don't know.... since they have no aroma, only way to prove that is with lab work!
It is fact that UV light does promote more THC production, so it seems logical (if not proven scientifically yet?) that THC serves some purpose in this protective aspect... Which also makes sense if you consider what's being protected: the early germ cells of either seed or pollen grains... UV is, as you all know, destructive to DNA, and while other parts of the plants tissues are well protected against UV by various means (like anti-oxidants), the thin walled calyxes are not as well protected, and those germ cells are right at the base of them...
All those wonderful trich's do their part in deterring more than just pests, the chemistry is in play shielding vulnerable genetic matter from damage...

I do try a 24-36 hour dark period before harvest, but often as not it's not do-able or practical, so I can't say for SURE it's helping increase terp levels beyond what a normal night does, but it seems to trend more positive than negative on that account, IME...