the way I see it, a combination of dark + coolness triggers the "Night time functions" within the plant, which is partly growth and hormone production i think (someone please correct me on that) i think this is how automatic flowering works, over the periods of darkness the flowering hormone builds up within the plant then when levels reach a breakpoint it starts to flower. So ... after a particularly long dark period before starting the flowering cycle (which in itself is just a method of making the hormones faster because of the longer dark periods) those levels are that bit higher (4.75 "nights" worth of production in 1 dose)
So, yes I think there is scientific reasons why this will have some effect, not sure if the rate of production escalates because the dark period is longer (some plants, like some cacti, produce more hormones the darker they are, mostly consistent dark nights means the same is produced each night, but if you lock it in the dark for a LONG period the hormone that is produced in the cacti that keeps it dormant can be 20x normal production after only a week or so of constant dark, meaning the rate of production gets higher, just like in a night period the start of dark it produces less than the end of the night)
Many factors, so a proper experiment with a good sample size would be good to get some usable figures. If you dont mind causing minor harm to the plant sap can be tested for PH during the experiment on all samples to get some kind of idea at rate of production (Sap PH will sway away from soil PH as the plant is focusing on hormone production as to nuit takeup from the roots)
This is theory mainly taken from my experiences with cacti and other plants.
thoughts?
Mor
