I was doing some reading and heard that photoperiod and types of light used were dependent on the origin of the plant, for example indica varieties should be vegged @ 18/6 and flowered @ 12/12, ( as in the photoperiod of northern latitudes) and equitorial strains ( columbian and thai sativas ) should be vegged @ 13/11 and flowered @ 11/13 (as in the photoperiod of the tropics). Also it read that HPS replicated light at northern latitudes, whereas MH replicated light near the equator/ subtropics. Question: has any one heard anything like this, and/or have any experience with this, and if I am growing equitorial sativas, should I use the aforementioned light cycles and types of light?

I don't think anyone will be able to give a definative answer, as its mostly a matter of opinion.

I'd say, unless you're trying to save money on power, go for 24/0 for veg, this'll put the max ammount of Energy onto your plants, which'll mean they grow bigger.

It may take an extra week or two to switch to flowering, over say 18/6, but if that worries you just switch to that for a few weeks before flower.

Really you should see what works for you, but as a general rule...

More light in veg = More Energy = More Plant material.

__________________
MONE¥ I$ D£BT.
No Victim No Crime Legalize

Anyone except someone who has first hand experience with this that is... And as far as it being an "opinion", where I read this was not somebodies post or thread, it was a publication on marijuana botany, but as I do not always believe in everything i see/read, I was just asking for some verification. I'm not salty, I just thought this topic was highly intriguing and do not think it should be discarded so lightly.

I have read and come to the understanding that neither metal halide or hps have increased or decreased effect since according to position on earth, the suns balance of rays is consistent. But UVB light from the sun does does have increased amount of rays near the equator and decreases as you move north or south, uvb increases thc. if you were say north of the equator near the border of canada and US, you would have to be at a much higher, thousands of feet, altitude to have the same uvb rays that is at recieved at ground level equator.
as

i kind of messed up the mh and hps have different effect acording photoperiod, they obviously absorb and make use of either or according to stage of life, but the suns balance of rays doesnt change. as photoperiod goes it is reasonable arguement to give girls light native to origins but i have had best results with 18/6 on all my girls

I'm not discarding your topic, only stating LOGIC.

As almost every strain that I am aware of will flower on a 12/12 light schdule, I don't see the benefit of reducing the energy you're giving the plants during veg by almost half.

You COULD start a Sativa on 12/12 (thats the TRUE Equatorial time schedul, 12/12 365 days a year) and still yeild a deicent plant, but if you want to yeild bigger, you need to VEG the plant first.

Growing plants under artifical lights, in fact growing Sensimilla AT ALL, isn't exactly natural.

In Nature, the plant isn't trying to grow the biggest fattest buds, it just works in whatever conditions it's been given to try and reproduce.

I, on the other hand, want my plants as big as possible, so I give them as much energy as I can, ya digg?

If my logic is Flawed, by all means post a link.

__________________
MONE¥ I$ D£BT.
No Victim No Crime Legalize

Ah, and this "uvb" light, how can you use that in an artificial enviroment, or should I say what types of lights are there that replicate this? You say bad results with 18/6? what do you use? As for jointsmith, I see no flaws in your logic, although no where on the earth is the photoperiod consistent for 365 days a year,(i.e. 12/12) because as you surely know the earth's axis is tilted 23 degrees, giving us our varying photoperiods, and hence the seasons. And once again I'm not salty, I've just noticed people are real defensive on this site, and I just want a free exchange of thoughts, not an argument, any input is greatly appreciated Thank you once again.

if the uvb question is toward me i havnt invested in it yet until i know all the little details, since its bad for human skin there are certain times it should be on, other details and such but i do know it is consistent with lights used in indoor reptile environments as far as intensity and how many i am not sure, i am about to post a thread with that question under advanced growing, and i said 18/6 was best for my girls, sometimes 20/4 but never less.

Actually, For everywhere EXCEPT the equator, this is true.

Actually ON the TRUE equator the time schedule is 12/12, in the tropics it starts to deviate slightly for the seasons.

This gets more pronounced the further you get from the equator, hense why there is a bigger difference between winter/summer the further you get from the equator.

If you take two points equi-distant from the equator to the north and the south, they would have inverse photo periods, with the equator being 0 (i.e. no difference between light time and dark time).

Not being Salty, just don't like being told I'm wrong when I'm not.

I agree different spectrums of light (frequency of energy) could be beneficial to different strains, however plants have no concept of time or hours, only ENERGY, or a LACK there of, so thats what I think of it in terms of.

__________________
MONE¥ I$ D£BT.
No Victim No Crime Legalize

I've said this many times before, there is truth in the photoperiod, not sure about the spectrum part though.

People have debated 24/0, 18/6 etc forever and I'm a tinkering stoner so I tried it with all the stuff I have grown to see what worked best. Some plants just don't care regadless of where they are from, and some conform to what you claim or at least close.

Going further I found that it's just a matter of some wanting some sleep and others not caring, and the ones that want sleep you can just give a couple hours sleep and they will do just as well as 18/6 doesn't seem to matter in a noticeable way between those two.

The difference isn't miraculous though, if you're just doing them all 24/0 and happy then I wouldn't give it much thought again.

__________________
Bukkake Bud: It might taste like splooge but shoots smiles all over your face.
When you'll suck on just about anything~think Bukkake.