wilsoncr17
Well-Known Member
Ok, so I actually did some spectrum research and a plants reaction to light. What I am about to talk about is from a Sept 2004 issue of Natural History Magazine. The tests were done using LED's to expose various plants to the far-red range of the spectrum.
Far-Red is actually created naturally as a result of shading (when one plant blocks light from another). The far-red light causes the plant to stretch to try and receive more red to blue light and give itself optimum conditions. If you were to apply an increased amount of far-red your plants would respond as if they needed more light and would stretch to surpass an imaginary competitor. The tests also showed an increase in the number of shoots when exposed to far-red, however as the plant matured the extra shoots died off (this was a result of inadequate nutrient uptake as other plants in the same area competed. This may not be a problem in the controlled environment of a regulated grow-op).
So what I gathered from this article was that far-red is only naturally occurring when the plant is competing for better light, it could minimize the space between nodes as it causes greater shoot development, but it could also cause stretching as the plant tries to reach for light. If the plant doesn't think it's getting adequate light it could have negative affects. It could however be like an unsatisfied fat kid just getting bigger and bigger and bigger, but I don't know.
I say try it. If you have the means, and let us know. It appears to have some affect, but to what end, I don't know.
Far-Red is actually created naturally as a result of shading (when one plant blocks light from another). The far-red light causes the plant to stretch to try and receive more red to blue light and give itself optimum conditions. If you were to apply an increased amount of far-red your plants would respond as if they needed more light and would stretch to surpass an imaginary competitor. The tests also showed an increase in the number of shoots when exposed to far-red, however as the plant matured the extra shoots died off (this was a result of inadequate nutrient uptake as other plants in the same area competed. This may not be a problem in the controlled environment of a regulated grow-op).
So what I gathered from this article was that far-red is only naturally occurring when the plant is competing for better light, it could minimize the space between nodes as it causes greater shoot development, but it could also cause stretching as the plant tries to reach for light. If the plant doesn't think it's getting adequate light it could have negative affects. It could however be like an unsatisfied fat kid just getting bigger and bigger and bigger, but I don't know.
I say try it. If you have the means, and let us know. It appears to have some affect, but to what end, I don't know.