dark period before harvest?

I've been hearing recently about a 72 hour dark period before harvesting your ladies. I've grown before but have never heard of this. Could someone please explain what if any the benefits of this are?

It's thought that such an extended dark period at the end will force plant to do final push and give everything it's got to the buds before cutting. I personally don't feel it makes any difference in your final results how long you let it go. I usually like to cut just after the dark period but just do a ref 12hrs, again, I've never noticed a difference going longer so don't waste my time.

I feel as though they are 8-12 weeks in already, there's not much left for them to push anyways...they're at the end of their life time.

Yeah that makes sense. Thanks.

Drying the plant whole, at least for the most part, ends up being a long, final dark period that really doesn't need to be extended.

Thanks. I've never had a problem with the way I already harvest. No need to fix what ain't broken right? Thanks guys.

I read that it has been proven in SOME strains that 48-72 hrs of darkness can increase resin levels.
key word being SOME.

This is the quote I see posted all the time, not sure where it came from.


"The Stichting Institute of Medical marijuana (SIMM), the first company to sell marijuana through the pharmacies of Holland, has been investigating the medical possibilities of cannabis, together with TNO laboratories and the University of Leiden.

One of their discoveries has been that to keep the ripe plants in the dark before harvesting could increase their potency.SIMM’s growers separated a crop of mature plants, harvested half of them and kept the other half in absolute darkness for 72 hours before cutting and drying. Analysis of the resulting dried buds showed that some varieties had seen an increase of THC of up to 30%, while CBD and CBN remained the same."

I take it you're probably supposed to cut off all water as well then?

72 Hour Dark can increase THC levels

Direct from Brick Top

Ok cool. After a little more reading I don't know if its really worth the time.