Title says it all - do the flowers themselves benefit from direct light opposed to some shade from the fan leaves? In other words, would one benefit from moving the fan leaves to allow direct light on the bud itself? I've heard people use this as part of their rational to lollipop their plants and others make the comparison to tomatoes (isn't that just to make them sweet though?), but tell me what you think.
Well, I would think you want less light on your buds than leaves, because THC is degraded by light, and the fan leaves obviously have way more chlorophyll and mesophyll depth to support photosynthesis, which produces sugars (which is necessary as energy for THC production), which makes your plant healthy in general. Plus, around here if you let your tomatoes get any light, they fucking burn right through. So I don't think it's really so necessary. In fact, I would advise against it, for the fact that any damage done to a flowering plant will tajke energy toward healing and not flowering. If anything, I would grow some bud with a thin gauze covering all the bud but not the photosynthetic leaves, for about a week or two before harvest, and see what happens. Do the opposite with another, and see which is better.
That's always been my frame of thought, but then I hear everyone talking about giving the bud light to "ripen it up faster..."
I could be confusing correlation with causation, but have you ever noticed the lower bud sites on your plant? They tend to be much looser and fluffier, which I attribute to a lack of direct light. That being said, I have no scientific data to back up this claim. Interestingly, I've noticed that my lower popcorn buds sometimes have more trichome coverage than my upper buds, but I'm not sure if this is just how the cannabis plant works or if this is attributable to the lowered light intensity.
Very well said Cripes! If u hang more light under the plant canopy those small popcorn buds can explode into small colas I hear. The bud leaves absolutely benefit from direct and intense light. Light does not degrade thc until the plant is cut and drying.
Cannabis flowers do benefit from direct light. While light and heat do break down the thc, it's a long process, and while the plant is producing THC, up until the end of flowering, any degredation (if any) will be overcompensated by production based on heightened photosynthesis rates in the exposed (bright) flowers. The buds at the top are the biggest and most compact due, in part, to the extra light. However, plants with lower chlorophyll pigmentation are better candidates for solvent extracts, so if your plan is Iso-hash, hide those suckers, but if you're looking for beastier (as in big) buds, give them more light, hopefully, without damaging or removing, but rather tucking and moving the fan leaves, chock-full of mobile nutrients to help your buds grow.
thanks for your input everyone! Basically what I have concluded from this (assuming all constant light, good feeding, etc...) is that bud production is something the plant will always do, and fan leaves (absorbing light) do aid in the addition of energy (sugars) to accomplish this. Having said that, the bud itself ALSO benefits from the light, and can develop more densely due to greater light intensity/penetration (haha, penetration...) Sound reasonable? I was trying to find some more merit behind lollipoping, and correct me if my understanding of the technique is incorrect, but many argue removing lower fan leaves and lower and/or less developed side shoots to allow light more light to hit the bud (also it supposedly "focuses" its energy on the bud). Load of crap if you ask me... unless you're in the "largest single cola" contest maybe
reasonable. The other major factor for bud density (excluding genetic predisposition) is temperature. The hotter your environment (in some amounts from your light in the form of "iR" and far red spectrum) the fluffier the buds, the cooler, the denser. Don't listen to the arguments about lolipopping to increase or change yield, that's not what it's for. And don't think it's something that must, or cannot, be done. it's a tool, a technique, to be implemented when necessary or desired. When I was growing NYCD, I topped my plant multiple times to spread out the canopy. Then, I let each lower node grow into a primary and split again, creating a wide, round canopy about 2.5" above the soil. The NYCD leaves are broad and moderately long, and the canopy became so full as to block the lower leaves. These leaves turned yellow in time, at which time they were removed, creating a lolipop scenario. This was the PLANT that decided it needed to be lolipopped, and I obliged. It produced 8 well sized colas and a few secondary colas, it didn't need those lower leaves that weren't getting light, and it sucked them of their mobile nutes and killed the leaves. As the upper canopy shot up when entering bloom, the secondary stems near the top became excellent candidates for lower-stem "snapper nugs" that can be used for hash or baking or if you wanna trim 'em, smokin. -- Another example is the use of lolipopping in keeping disease and detritus from attacking the plant leaves. On certain indicas, the stout nature will keep the plant from ever going past 18" tall. With your buds this close to the soil, SOME GARDENERS employ lollipopping to help fight a future battle before it starts. On stout indicas, large lower leaves will be in a high humidity area in a hydro setup, and will be prone to mold and diatoms. In that scenario as well, it would be wise to lollipop. It's a tool for gardening, not yields. It may affect yield, and for SoG Farmers, it may very well be a yield manipulating tool, and smartly employed, but for everyone else, it's just a tool, helps with a few things, totally optional.
Thank you, GrapeStreet! All very helpful and interesting information! I just started nycd three weeks ago I will try the same on a few.
Another point missed about cutting off fan leaves is not only to give the buds more light, but also the plant will use more of it's energy into growing buds instead of relatively useless fan leaves. Especially when outdoors
Take step back -- why do MJ plants produce THC at all? It's a sunscreen for them, so the more light you put on the buds the more THC they will produce. And fan leaves are not useless, they are both the nutrient storehouses as DankBudz said, plus also the solar panels that collect and convert the energy from light to be used for producing more bud in the first place.
Toasty...i love ya...but just cuz I'm a science geek, i'm'a have to check you on the "sunscreen" theory...it's a theory, not proven in any form. Just a theory. It's a very good theory, but does not have the needed empirical evidence to suggest it as a "cold hard fact". There are other theories as well, also using sound logic. That said, everything else you said is spot on.
Ive always been under the impression that the THC is a form of protection from animals, insect's and bad weather.
Everything about this post is incorrect, especially the comment about outdoor plants. The buds do not provide the energy for flower production. The flowers provide a very small amount of energy for flower growth. The food is produced in the leaves by the photosynthetic process, then stored in the root zone, then trans-located to the flower for nutrition when needed. When you remove the leaves before the plant has finished using the nutrients you inhibit the plant from storing energy for later use. The leaves are also responsible for respiration and cannot convert the Co2 to O2 as needed if removed. The plant will determine when it no longer needs the leaf and will use the stored nutrients, then yellow and fall off when ready. Never remove leaves until they are yellow and spent. Strip the leaves if you must, you will eventually get flowers, but you are going to have a long learning curve before growing proficiently. PW
So do.u never pull or.cut any leaves off as ive got loads in a bag but 85%plus were yellow i just rub my hand past them most fall off without any force used Autoflower420
Bad weather? How does THC protect a plant from a blizzard or a hurricane or 120 degree heat in July in Yuma, Arizona?
