my led has both UVb & IR built in to it I run them 24/7 the research that you guys are quoting on and from is about PHOTO-PERIOD plants... Darwin didnt know about autoflower weed LOL
so because autoflowers can use about 60% MORE light then a photo, im gonna say that unless your worried about temps, humidity etc etc, then its probably best to run it 24/7 if you can.. after all, autoflowers dont go by light, they go by time... so feed them the most light you can
it IS true that a plant builds up its Pr 7 PFr during the darkness hours, this is why putting your planys into dark a few days before harvest increases trich count, but once again, Im going to ASSUME that autoflowers are a whole new ballgame when it comes to genetics and what they like
The light schedule has been an on going debate for quite awhile; there are several threads and polls on AFN about it already. Here's a quick link to probably the most popular one:
Thread: What's the best lighting cycle for autos - 24/0, 20/4 or 18/6
At the time of this post; there are 331 voters on that poll. Out of those voters on the poll, over 50% of them voted that they thought 20/4 worked best, a little over 33% voted on 18/6, about 13% for 24/0 and the rest for other lighting schedules.
On the poll listed here; there are 97 voters. Out of those voters, about 64% chose 20/4 lighting over the 18/6 (at 36%.)
So statistically, you can see where the majority lays. Whether those are the best light schedules or not could probably be deemed subjective though; as some searching through grow journals on here will show you some amazing grows on all sorts of light schedules.
Depending on the breeder, the strain, or even particular pheno, sometimes certain autos will also display more light schedule dependent traits (not very common, but there have been cases reported on AFN.)
I'm currently running 24/0 light schedule with my plants and I have three particular autos that have yet to flower (day 60 from germ.) The rest of the plants in the grow space are loving it. I ran my last big auto grow on 18/6 light schedule. Comparing the two based on my own personal results; I'd honestly go back to 18/6 on my next grow. Or maybe even try 20/4.
Nothing wrong with experimenting a little; but based on the data I think there's definitely a clear push towards certain light schedules, and that a grower should learn how the particular strains they are growing react to the schedule they are using.
Working with "absolutes" and "always" and "100% of the time's" can be a dangerous game when there are unknown variables.
Also not sure if you saw them; there are dedication sections for lighting:
Lighting
As well as a dedicated section for LED's:
LED Growing Section
Hope that helps bro! :karma Cloud:
