reasons for topping?

W

weedsley

Member
what is the main reason people top there plants?

Is it because of a space issue or more bud growth?

would not topping and letting it grow (because space is not an issue) yield more then topping it?
 
Sean Tom

Sean Tom

Well-Known Member
topping is strain dependent i've learned. some strains i top and get a bunch of nice tops, other strains i top and it seems as if i should have had a bigger harvest. but generally we top to increase our yield. when you top the plant it transfers hormones from the top to bottom of plants therefore causing them to grow up to be their own top. the top bud is always the best.
 
dank smoker420

dank smoker420

Well-Known Member
you should look into main-lining. its in the organic thread. it is topping but somewhat to the extreme. when you see those you will know why people like to top. you get multiple main colas
 
largebuds

largebuds

Active Member
i would all way top and lst my plants

you all ways want a big level canopy but it don't matter how you get it, ( sog, scog lst fim topping) but it will increase your yeild indoors if you increase the amount of bud sites close to the light :):)
 
bostoner

bostoner

Active Member
stickyicky0420 said:
the question is why not top :)
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Because you cutting off the most mature strongest fastest growing branch on the plant while simultaneously stunting the plants growth for 7- 10 days. I don't top anymore. It doesn't improve yield at all. Why would it, does cutting off a babies arm make his legs grow bigger? You can just lst it and get more main colas without hacking off the bud with the most potential to grow the biggest bud on your plant. Say you topped and you got 4 colas. all grew the same. When I lst I get 10-25 tops depending on how long the veg. Plants will side branch on their own. It up to you to bend em and make a flat canopy. The main stalk wont always grow the biggest bud when you lst right but all should be very similar in size like you would get with topping only. Just more of them, well 1 at least. Topping once wont get you 10 tops. Topping wore than once might but your just going to be vegging longer and stressing the plant out.

edit: about the stress, it can be bad. a friend from cali just lost 2 tahos and 1 larry og to hermie because the plants got too big and he started topping like nuts so they wouldn't overgrow the fence.
 
sfttailpaul

sfttailpaul

Active Member
bostoner said:
Because you cutting off the most mature strongest fastest growing branch on the plant while simultaneously stunting the plants growth for 7- 10 days. I don't top anymore. It doesn't improve yield at all. Why would it, does cutting off a babies arm make his legs grow bigger? You can just lst it and get more main colas without hacking off the bud with the most potential to grow the biggest bud on your plant. Say you topped and you got 4 colas. all grew the same. When I lst I get 10-25 tops depending on how long the veg. Plants will side branch on their own. It up to you to bend em and make a flat canopy. The main stalk wont always grow the biggest bud when you lst right but all should be very similar in size like you would get with topping only. Just more of them, well 1 at least. Topping once wont get you 10 tops. Topping wore than once might but your just going to be vegging longer and stressing the plant out.

edit: about the stress, it can be bad. a friend from cali just lost 2 tahos and 1 larry og to hermie because the plants got too big and he started topping like nuts so they wouldn't overgrow the fence.
Click to expand...
Yes sir, you understand. I agree, topping is unnecessary. The amount of bud a plant gets is genetically pre-determined. If you get more Colas they will be smaller but will all add up to the same amount of bud if you left the plant alone. LST will make the canopy more even and therefore it appears to get more bud. Indoors, this is usually the case because the light penetration is so critical. I also agree that the stress one induces to the plant from whacking the top, the most adventitious tip, is one of the main causes we get Hermies. I definitely train, but gave up topping several years back. Nothing like a big fat juicy Cola on top; one that wants to fall over!!!
 
resinousflowers

resinousflowers

Well-Known Member
bostoner said:
Because you cutting off the most mature strongest fastest growing branch on the plant while simultaneously stunting the plants growth for 7- 10 days. I don't top anymore. It doesn't improve yield at all. Why would it, does cutting off a babies arm make his legs grow bigger? You can just lst it and get more main colas without hacking off the bud with the most potential to grow the biggest bud on your plant. Say you topped and you got 4 colas. all grew the same. When I lst I get 10-25 tops depending on how long the veg. Plants will side branch on their own. It up to you to bend em and make a flat canopy. The main stalk wont always grow the biggest bud when you lst right but all should be very similar in size like you would get with topping only. Just more of them, well 1 at least. Topping once wont get you 10 tops. Topping wore than once might but your just going to be vegging longer and stressing the plant out.

edit: about the stress, it can be bad. a friend from cali just lost 2 tahos and 1 larry og to hermie because the plants got too big and he started topping like nuts so they wouldn't overgrow the fence.
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ive found that topping does increase yeild.and some strains recover within a few days after being topped.also when you top you can open up the the plant to allow light to get right inside.
its all about how and when you top really.
 
resinousflowers

resinousflowers

Well-Known Member
sfttailpaul said:
Yes sir, you understand. I agree, topping is unnecessary. The amount of bud a plant gets is genetically pre-determined. If you get more Colas they will be smaller but will all add up to the same amount of bud if you left the plant alone. LST will make the canopy more even and therefore it appears to get more bud. Indoors, this is usually the case because the light penetration is so critical. I also agree that the stress one induces to the plant from whacking the top, the most adventitious tip, is one of the main causes we get Hermies. I definitely train, but gave up topping several years back. Nothing like a big fat juicy Cola on top; one that wants to fall over!!!
Click to expand...
ive done side by side tests,and i usually will get around 1/2 oz more yeild from 4 plants in total.the other 4 will have impressive main colas tho.
 
W

weedsley

Member
bostoner said:
Because you cutting off the most mature strongest fastest growing branch on the plant while simultaneously stunting the plants growth for 7- 10 days. I don't top anymore. It doesn't improve yield at all. Why would it, does cutting off a babies arm make his legs grow bigger? You can just lst it and get more main colas without hacking off the bud with the most potential to grow the biggest bud on your plant. Say you topped and you got 4 colas. all grew the same. When I lst I get 10-25 tops depending on how long the veg. Plants will side branch on their own. It up to you to bend em and make a flat canopy. The main stalk wont always grow the biggest bud when you lst right but all should be very similar in size like you would get with topping only. Just more of them, well 1 at least. Topping once wont get you 10 tops. Topping wore than once might but your just going to be vegging longer and stressing the plant out.

edit: about the stress, it can be bad. a friend from cali just lost 2 tahos and 1 larry og to hermie because the plants got too big and he started topping like nuts so they wouldn't overgrow the fence.
Click to expand...
i agree completely
 
bostoner

bostoner

Active Member
Yea I get you res but I wasn't comparing topped plants to left alone plants. Plants left alone when grown indoors have a disadvantage of Par fall off. No matter the wattage of hps you use you still only got a few inches of great penetration. If you put any wattage HID on a an untrained plant as close to the top(s) as it can be 8 " below that point your only getting half the light intensity as the top of the plant. So yea with topping you may see an increase in weight when compared to an untouched plant because more buds and fan leaves are in the intense light. Tho when you lst even more than two or four tops will be in this intense light. absorbing more potential energy. Although as paul said a car can only go as fast as its engine. The roots will only intake as much nutrients as they can. So the yield is mostly genetically determined. But with more "solar panels" in the intense light you make sure your not hindering the roots from creating as big of yield as possible.
 
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