Ethylene gas to ripen buds.

Discussion in 'Advanced Growing Techniques' started by angryogre, Jul 10, 2010.

  1. I debated on whether to post this in harvest and processing or here and I figured I would get better insight here. when I buy fruit that's not ripe I buy and additional piece of fully ripened fruit to put with the unripe fruit in a sealed bag. the 1 ripe peach or banana gives off ethylene gas to ripen the other fruit much faster than if left on their own , with this in mind if i placed a ripe banana with fresh buds in a drying box would the banana accelerate the ripening process for the buds and if so would the CBD and CBN be higher due to accelerated ripening? would flavor characteristics be affected? i was thinking that this might work to produce a more pronounced couchlock without leaving the buds on the plant for an additional 1-2 weeks. could the couchlock be produced simply by an environment high in ethylene gas(dry box)? has anyone tried to accelerate bud ripening in this manner? i'm curious to see what effect a ethylene rich environment and a slow drying time would have on buds and if it could produce a noticeable change in the herb.does anyone have any insight on this or the effects of ethylene on cannabis?
     
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  2. I know little on the subject, but I do know that the thing that takes the longest in making good smoke is breaking down the chlorophyll, so I'd say you don't necessarily need to accelerate the ripening because they'll be "ripe" when the chlorophyll has broken down and they've got a nice dry/cure going in my opinion...

    I also know that supposedly as long as no problems are caused by how long you take, doing things like that slowly tends to produce a better result.

    Experiement away - no harm in that... just don't rush nature too much, whatever you do find. I'm interested to hear you report your findings later!
     
  3. To be straight-forward, I don't know.

    I would assume not. The fruits ripen faster because ethylene gas is produced from their tissues and it naturally emits from the fruits tissue into the atmosphere. Marijuana isn't a food crop, so I would assume ethylene gas would have no effect on it's buds.

    The rumor I have heard though is that ethylene gas on a marijuana plant would make the seeds from the plant be feminised (90% or so?). Once again, that is something I heard with no other explanation. Maybe someone with a bit more knowledge on the topic could help a bit more for ya.

    - SwetnK
     
  4. That's a very interesting question. I don't see why it wouldn't have an affect. Ethylene can affect everything from your apples to your mesclum. It's a restaurant trade tip that you don't ever want to keep your salad mixes right next to your apples/pears/bananas. If it even affects leafy greens, then it may affect cannabis.

    Of course, what you're looking to do is to try and "age" the trichomes, not so much the actual plant material. Perhaps it would speed things along when turning to amber, but if you're picking them at clear, then I doubt you'll ever reach their full genetic potential, no matter what you're gassing them with.

    Maybe someone with a chem background could give us some enlightenment. All I know about the subject is the shit they tell you in the kitchen.
     
  5. if you really want to make them dry fast, put them sealed tight in the same container as some anhydrous calcium chloride, usually called damp-rid or damp-be-gone on the shelves. it shouldnt be touching any of the bud though, that stuffs bad so be careful.

    ..not sure if this is gonna do exactly what you wanted, its just what i know about fast drying without heat.
     
  6. Bananas, avocados and some tomatoes (i.e. 'gassed-green tomatoes') are placed into pressurized ripening rooms at the wholesale/distributor operations where ethylene gas is maintained at specific levels to hasten the ripening of the fruit for retail markets - a process completely different from processing dead plant material as in the case of dried flowers.

    Lots of fruits will naturally contain ethylene like avocados, bananas, some tomato varieties, etc. I'm thinking though that to the extent that ethylene changes the sugar structure in the fruit that you'd probably end up with rotten produce long before any real or imagined benefit that might result from exposing cannabis to this gas.

    LD
     
  7. #7 cryppi, Apr 7, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 7, 2011
    I don't grow weed so I might be wrong and I know this is an old thread but i was just browsing and stumbled across this thread after reading what everyone has had to say, I've realized that Ed Rosenthal inadvertently answered your question.

    Lets get one thing strait first aint nothing making prematurely cut buds mature. Dead things dont grow and cant go through the metabolic processes required to produce the proper terpenes for aroma and olivetolate to synthesize THC along with other cannabinoids to fill trichomes.

    Now back to the Hightimes Article from the 90's, Ed Rosenthal wrote an article about curing buds and explained that the purpose for curing is to age the bud so the starches breakdown to sugars and the chlorophyll breaks down as well causing the bud to change color, flavor and aroma. So if this is true then wouldn't ethylene gas do exactly that?
     
  8. hm i know this is an old thread, but i was wondering about the whole ethylene thing myself, since i'm looking to ripen buds fast due to time issues.
    my thought so far is that it would have some effect, but how MUCH ethylene gas would be needed to produce an effect, if any?
    if people are putting fruits in specialized rooms pumped with the gas, i dunno if a banana in a closet can count for the same...
     

  9. Red Lobster

    The term 'ripen' as it applies to produce commodities has absolutely nothing to do with how it's used for flowers.

    Ethylene is a simple Hydrocarbon (C2 H4) and is natural phytohormone. Bananas have a thick skin which holds in place a high level of this gas. If you take a couple of unripe Avocados and put them in a brown paper bag with some bananas, especially those that are very ripe (brown sugar spots) you can hasten the ripening of the Avocados.

    Even if it worked for 'ripening' buds, the amount you would need in a closet would have to be at least 3 cases - 120 lbs.

    That or you can buy Ethylene gas and emitters - it's also used as a welding gas.

    Seems pretty silly to me but who knows?

    LD
     

  10. RL,

    You might want to read this article from Greenhouse Grower Magazine before deliberately exposing your plants to ethylene gas.

    Ethylene In The Greenhouse - Greenhouse Grower

    chunk
     
  11. I only buy ripe fruit.
     
  12. I don't know about ethylene but I have plenty of methane gas..

    This is really interesting but I don't see how ripening fruit can apply to trichomes growing through their cycle..clear, to cloudy, to amber..isn't that what decides ripe buds?
    Wouldn't the trichs be so different to fruit that it could not apply?
     
  13. old thread, i know... but im interested to know if anyone on here uses the "banana" trick.. was reading in another forum that a guy places a banana in with his plants for the first few weeks (only growing 1-3 plants) but in turn, he has had a 100% success rate with all his plants being female??.. just wondering if this has be de-bunked or if anyone has any info on it.
    my seedlings are going onto day 5, and i have placed a banana infront of my intake fan to blow around the gas.. reading a little bit on it has lead me to believe it might help, and with one banana its not going over board with gasses in my room.. any one else??
     
  14. That's awesome man was just wondering the same thing. I figured a fruits a fruit no matter how you look at it. I was more curious as to introducing ethylene gas into your bloom room at the beginning of flowering just to trick them into the change faster. I think the drying and curing prosses is something that should never be rushed.just my personal opinion.
     
  15. There is no need to add ethylene. The breakdown of the plant will produce it as long as a minimum of moisture is kept. This is part of why bud ripens well in an airtight jar. You're burping to replenish the oxygen, to support the microbial reactions that break down the bud and produce ethylene.
     
  16. [​IMG]
    wake - wakey McFly ur 4 years to late
     

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