Up till now, for all of my grows I have either topped my plants, LST'd, done both, or done nothing at all.
Usually what I end up with is a plant with one large cola, and several secondary colas that range anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 smaller than the main cola.
The smoke is always very good, but in terms of yield I never really noticed any dramatic increase when I topped or LST'd. Id end up with a little more, maybe 7-14 grams more, but not much more.
On my current grow I tried a different technique. Pruning. I took a clone form a sour lifesaver mother. All the growth 6-8 inches from the base of the plant was removed, as were several shoots that would have been nothing more than long branches with a small bud at the end. From the same mother, I took another plant and did nothing other than some LST. Both plants have otherwise been treated the same. Same soil, started under 12:12 at the same time, same nutes, light, watering schedule, etc.
The results are pretty dramatic. Both are at week 5 of flowering. The pruned plant is VERY different from its sister plant that is undergoing LST. It is basically one giant cola. It is easily twice the height of its sister plant that has been treated the same, is twice as resinous, and has a much more intense smell.
So, my question is this. How much of a plants potential is predetermined genetically. The results of my little experiment are kind of telling me that a plants potential is fixed, and that by topping, LST, etc, you may end up with more weight, but what the plants energy and what it is able to produce in terms of THC/Resin is distributed evenly over the plant, whereas with pruning, it is focusing all of its energy not into producing multiple budsites, branches and stems, but instead is put into making one giant cola that will eventually yield a better, higher quality product.
Thoughts?
Usually what I end up with is a plant with one large cola, and several secondary colas that range anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 smaller than the main cola.
The smoke is always very good, but in terms of yield I never really noticed any dramatic increase when I topped or LST'd. Id end up with a little more, maybe 7-14 grams more, but not much more.
On my current grow I tried a different technique. Pruning. I took a clone form a sour lifesaver mother. All the growth 6-8 inches from the base of the plant was removed, as were several shoots that would have been nothing more than long branches with a small bud at the end. From the same mother, I took another plant and did nothing other than some LST. Both plants have otherwise been treated the same. Same soil, started under 12:12 at the same time, same nutes, light, watering schedule, etc.
The results are pretty dramatic. Both are at week 5 of flowering. The pruned plant is VERY different from its sister plant that is undergoing LST. It is basically one giant cola. It is easily twice the height of its sister plant that has been treated the same, is twice as resinous, and has a much more intense smell.
So, my question is this. How much of a plants potential is predetermined genetically. The results of my little experiment are kind of telling me that a plants potential is fixed, and that by topping, LST, etc, you may end up with more weight, but what the plants energy and what it is able to produce in terms of THC/Resin is distributed evenly over the plant, whereas with pruning, it is focusing all of its energy not into producing multiple budsites, branches and stems, but instead is put into making one giant cola that will eventually yield a better, higher quality product.
Thoughts?
"I Love It"....LOL. one word or two?