Lowering light intensity at the end of flower

Kassiopeija

Well-Known Member
Yeah it does seem counterproductive but if they were outside.. the temps would change..along with the sun setting.. I’m still learning.. will just take note of what’s happening..
but what if outside isn't an optimal environment to begin with? what do you enjoy more a house or a cave? also plants don't like it much if you constantly shift around the stuff they rely upon... if anything it must be done quite gently... esp in flower.
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
hello, what would you do with your lights? maybe move them a little bit more closer to compensate the loss of lighttime? although, from a mimics point of view, it should less strong so I don't know...
Ive done this a couple times .... Gaslight ( lantern ) method. I ran mostly with long running Sativa strains ( 14 weeks sometimes ) to see if I could kick them in the ass a bit. It did cut down actual flower quite a bit after I found out about it. Some say light manipulation cuts yield ... IMO if flowers are already in mid / late flower most of the flower as already been formed then all I’m doing is making them metabolize more with less stored energy from a fading cycle. You will notice more pronounced terp profile ... more fragrance .

This advanced light cycle will save you time, money and increase overall production by up to 50%. This flowering light cycle is based on plants that are a 9 week flowering strain. Heres a breakdown of how you should set your timers for your HPS / led or CMH lights in your flowering or bud room:

Weeks 1-2: Set your timer for 11 hours on and 13 hours off.
Weeks 3-4: Set your timer for 10.5 hours on and 13.5 hours off.
Weeks 5-6: Set timers on for 10 hours and off for 14 hours.
Weeks 7-8: 9.5 hours on and 14.5 hours off.
Week 9: set timers to 9 hours on and 15 hours off. this is the final week of flowering

5A071ED5-56F7-438F-A959-F650774B8D93.jpeg
 

Hempire828

Well-Known Member
Ive done this a couple times .... Gaslight ( lantern ) method. I ran mostly with long running Sativa strains ( 14 weeks sometimes ) to see if I could kick them in the ass a bit. It did cut down actual flower quite a bit after I found out about it. Some say light manipulation cuts yield ... IMO if flowers are already in mid / late flower most of the flower as already been formed then all I’m doing is making them metabolize more with less stored energy from a fading cycle. You will notice more pronounced terp profile ... more fragrance .

This advanced light cycle will save you time, money and increase overall production by up to 50%. This flowering light cycle is based on plants that are a 9 week flowering strain. Heres a breakdown of how you should set your timers for your HPS / led or CMH lights in your flowering or bud room:

Weeks 1-2: Set your timer for 11 hours on and 13 hours off.
Weeks 3-4: Set your timer for 10.5 hours on and 13.5 hours off.
Weeks 5-6: Set timers on for 10 hours and off for 14 hours.
Weeks 7-8: 9.5 hours on and 14.5 hours off.
Week 9: set timers to 9 hours on and 15 hours off. this is the final week of flowering

View attachment 4428656
Most definitely will give this a try.. I currently run them 10 on 14 off... This is my first attempt at it so all I’ve noticed is a decrease in utilities, which is always a good thing..my plants seems to be growing well..
 

BenGman

Well-Known Member
This is all "bro science" , lol..as the know it all troll's would say.. I'm on week 7 right now , and been on 12/12 till tonight . I've just changed my timer to 11/13 till the end, I was running 1800 W in the 4x8 and just removed a light so now they getting 1200w, which now drops my temps to about 70F.. most the weight has already been gained so I'm not losing yield, if I have too much heat and light stress, they'll start foxtailing even if it's just a little bit or some other trait I don't want possibly.....I want them to finish bulking up and getting that extra frost and colour since I'm currrently running granddaddy purps, hey I might even dump lots of ice water in the res just for all the haters on here;) and leave them in the dark for 48 hours because I love bro science bro's, that's how we do.
 
Does anyone lower the light intensity at the end of flower? Like 1-2 weeks before harvesting. Just curious if there is any benefits maybe progressing the ripening of the buds. I know peeps do it if they're experiencing heat issues but I'm curious if there's benefits in a proper controlled room. Thanks in advance for any advice.
DLI Levels across cannabis grow life.png
I have the same question. I believe, like everything else you control, you have choices. I think you could choose to just keep hammering the light and push everything farther, subtleties-be-damned, and still do well. Or you can follow Natural Law and note the decrease in DLI, lowered intensity, lower sun angle (producing "warmer" light with more reds, cooler nights, etc. The girls are coming into the dock. Slow down. They are at the CLIMAX, just like your girlfriend. Give it a rest, Sonny Boy. I believe that THC, terpenes, cannabinoids, etc., are volatile and, once created, need to be preserved. Think Prevent Defense. You've already won the game. Don't eff it up. I'm dropping 25%-50% intensity from 8am to 12:00noon, then full power until 5:00pm, then drop 'till bedtime at 8pm. We'll see.
 

Stagger'em

Member
Does anyone lower the light intensity at the end of flower? Like 1-2 weeks before harvesting. Just curious if there is any benefits maybe progressing the ripening of the buds. I know peeps do it if they're experiencing heat issues but I'm curious if there's benefits in a proper controlled room. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Simply put, your mimicking to almost perfect timing, hopefully,
Try to teach her from an equator perspective. They respond beautifully. And remember, towards the end of her life you'll notice she's slowed down on water intake, and btw, up to 3 weeks, straight ph'd water. Give it 6 days no water, cut bottom, and dry entire plant, upsd of course, dry-trim,,,,Bada Bing, once little, branches snap, cure 'em
Good luck, friend.
 

Stagger'em

Member
Interesting that you said that about the aroma... We've never run temps this low towards the end, and we have noticed that the pungent smell is not near as intense as the first 2 runs we did with higher temps.
Lower temperature is better because she knows she's going to die. And gives her life up, basically fighting, and therfore, pumping cannabinoids.
Nature, everything corolates, including us.
I love it.
 

Wastei

Well-Known Member
Lower temperature is better because she knows she's going to die. And gives her life up, basically fighting, and therfore, pumping cannabinoids.
Nature, everything corolates, including us.
I love it.
That is the most Bro science post I've seen all week. Lowering temps outside of optimal will only cause lower rates of growth and cannabinoids as a result. Higher optimal temps produce more cannabinoids, not the other way around.
 

mandocat

Well-Known Member
That is the most Bro science post I've seen all week. Lowering temps outside of optimal will only cause lower rates of growth and cannabinoids as a result. Higher optimal temps produce more cannabinoids, not the other way around.
I grow outdoors and the temps naturally lower in the fall, as we all know, and I had outstanding results! Temps dipped into the 30s before they were harvested. Genetics produce more cannabinoids than any other single factor. I had 5 outdoor plants test over 24% thc and one had 33% total cannabinoids, according to the official state testing I had done, for what those numbers are worth. I also had the terps tested. I'm looking forward to even more comprehensive testing to be developed that allows us to measure more of the elements of cannabis that contribute to the effects! We all know there is more to it than just terps and thc, and cbd, cbn, cbg, ect.. I also grow indoors and reduce the lighting intensity towards the end of flower, and those plants also tested well!
 

kingzt

Well-Known Member
That is the most Bro science post I've seen all week. Lowering temps outside of optimal will only cause lower rates of growth and cannabinoids as a result. Higher optimal temps produce more cannabinoids, not the other way around.
I actually tried running the same temp from start to finish in flower. Lower intensity in the beginning and gradual increase. Temps stayed the same though. Buds came out stickier than dropping temps at the end. Going to be cheaper and easier this summer.
 

Kassiopeija

Well-Known Member
That is the most Bro science post I've seen all week. Lowering temps outside of optimal will only cause lower rates of growth and cannabinoids as a result. Higher optimal temps produce more cannabinoids, not the other way around.
He's talking about senescence, which is induced by a cooler termperature shift in annual plants, you know very little about plants it's reveiling.
 

Wastei

Well-Known Member
He's talking about senescence, which is induced by a cooler termperature shift in annual plants, you know very little about plants it's reveiling.
I know exactly what he's talking about but it has no to very little application indoors in a controlled environment.

Cannabis grow for 6+ months naturally but only have a cycle of a couple of weeks or months indoors. Triggering senescense do absolutely nothing productive indoors.

Keep theorizing without any data to support your claims! One day you'll grow a vigorous green an healthy plant from start to finish. Cheers!
 
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Wastei

Well-Known Member
It makes sense to lower light intensity at the end, it mimics nature and more than likely forces our lady love to grow her flower faster (with less strain too) for reproductive reasons. This article was an interesting read: https://oklahoma-cannabis-company.com/cycling-light-intensity/
Sure it makes sense but where is the actual data with a side by side comparison showing the positive effects?

Ramping up light is self explanatory. You should never use more light than the plants are able to tolerate at that certain point in time. It's all about following the plants response.

It's however tiering with people trying to sound like they're reinventing the wheel and putting out statements without any real proof of concept or data to support their claims?
 

mandocat

Well-Known Member
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