I hear 24-0 is the way to go..however there isn't as much growth as traditional methods.I've always been a 16-8 kinda guy.I thought 24-0 was to keep mothers at an idle for the cloning purposes..
I thought 24/0 was itself a "traditional" light cycle. Seems to me like 24/0 and 18/6 are the 2 most widely used, and are equally popular, at least in the last decade or so. You'll can achieve fantastic results using both. I've used both and the difference is negligible at best.
I've heard that plants use the dark period for some part of their chemical/biological process, and need it, yet I've used both 18/6 and 24/0 for veg and never noticed a difference, I suppose only a side by side test would truly tell. I've settled on a 20/4 cycle as sort of a compromise and am happy with it. I can't support it with evidence but I feel a little dark time reduces stress and is best. For millions of years plants always got sleep at least a bit.
I always use 24/0 for veg just because there is no need for a timer that way. I've heard from a lot of people who have tried both ways without problems, so do whatever you're most comfortable with.
this...so much more simple don't even have to worry about light leaks/ventilation.. I just leave the closet door cracked
Ok, so I motivated and looked online for solid science on this topic. What I found was too tedious to paste here but I'll sum it up. Forgive me if I don't say it quite right, but the various articles said the same basic thing, something like this: That during the day/light the plant gathers resources from light, CO2, water, nutrients, etc, but during the dark it builds sugars, cells, etc from what it gathered during the light. So day is for taking in resources and night is for building itself. They certainly made dark sound biologically important. Of course we all know well that a plant under 24/0 certainly still does grow, so obviously the plant is able to adapt. However I wonder if it really grows any faster or healthier than one which gets to "sleep" just a bit ? Guess a side by side test would be the way to know, which I probably will never do, but should So I still believe 18/6 or 20/4 to be better for the long run, but who knows.
in my mind, plants are like humans. they need the sun, water and food. the plant really does use that night period to recharge herself, and make necessary changes for the next day. how would you feel being up 24 our days for months straight? obviously... wont happen, but you get the point. marijuana is a sensitive plant, but overall it can withstand some harsh environments. maybe you cant actually see a difference between 24/0 and 18/6. but i guarantee you the end product will result in a better thc% and a better smoke in general. MJ is nice to me. dammit, im gonna be nice to her. shes not a servant.
I've just never heard a logical explanation for what happens during the dark period that is desirable. I'm not sure how you can make the connection that giving the plant a dark period during veg can make the plant produce more THC during flower. I'd rather my plant have 24 hours of time to photosynthesize every day rather then only 18. The simplicity of not needing a timer is just an added bonus that really seals the deal for me. Even if this is stressful on plants (which I've never seen anything to make me believe my ladies are stressed under 24/0), I still would probably use 24/0. Stress during veg isn't necessarily a bad thing. The way I see it, plants should go through some stress during veg (I think of it the same as lifting weights). The plant then needs to strengthen itself in order to make itself better able to survive. Then when you switch it to flower and remove all stress, the plant has already improved itself during veg and can really start to thrive. (Think of it this way: If you were going to grab up some random dude and turn him into a prize-fighter, would you rather grab some wimp from beverly-hills with a cushy job who's life has been perfectly stress-free, or someone from compton who's had to fight to survive his whole life?) I'm not saying that you're wrong, I'm just saying that the way I see it I disagree. I would love to see some side by side testing done to find out if there really is a benefit of giving the plant a dark period during veg.
I dont think i said specifically it would produce more thc if a plant has a night period. you have intrigued me to bust out my old horticulture books from my college days. book is called "Botany for Gardeners" by brian capon. pg 148: talking about the discovery of plants sensing the passing of time by W.W.Garner and H.A Allard. "when garner and allard recognized that plants are able to measure the passage of time, and thereby set in motion reproductive processes, they concluded plants that plants respond to the duration of daylight in each twenty four hour period. the name they coined "photoperiodism, and other terminologies associated with the process, reflect such a belief. unfortunately, later studies indicated that plants measure night lengths rather than daylight hours; but, for convenience, the "photo-" and "day" were left unchanged in the scientific vocabulary." now lets try to find more about those studies... still trying... ok i cant find any. but still, with everything said. if plants rely on the night to detect the passage of time. whats happens if they cant do that? this can potentially disrupt the process of reproduction, prohibiting the plants from flowering "scotobiology of plants" by tony bidwell: "the plants ability to measure and respond is crutial in enabling it to dovetail its developmental behavior with the seasons" I along with you cant find specifics on this. but everything seems to point to the fact that plants will in some way benefit from a night period. with this being said, i know people veg in 24/0 and things seem fine. one would really need to conduct a scientific study to conclude the things im trying to prove. perhaps the only difference (of 24/0 and 18/6) is that a plant with a night period will mature faster and/or produce buds quicker. would like to study this more...
Marijuana doesn't care about the number of days or the length of the days... All that matters is it will grow whenever it's in the light. They don't use the dark period to tell "when its tomorrow"... It uses phytochome to messure the length of the darkness. Phytochome comes it two modes, one reacts to red light and the other far red light... Pr and Pfr... During the dark period Pfr turns into Pr, it takes 10+ hours... If the plant senses the Pr, it triggers flowering. Daylight (red light) resets the Pr back to Pfr, so if the plant doesn't get 10+ hours of darkness to make Pr and a little time to react to it, your plant remains in a veg state... -Loki
plants continue to grow at night. its called respiration, so idk why you say it doesnt. and the plant doesnt detect the time of darkness, it simply detects the LACK of light. but by me saying "detects the passage of time" thats is only trying to describe what you are saying. thats it needs a certain amount of light to kick in flowering. so yeah..
Marijuana is a C3 plant, not a CAM plant... CO2 Respiration in C3, C4, and CAM Plants in Light and Dark Conditions -Loki
straight from your link: "C3 light dependent and independent reactions occur in the light, while cellular respiration predominates in the dark (although it is a continual process)" did you even read that link? it basically is saying what im saying.. plus i found that site in about 2 seconds. so im assuming you found it super quick like i did, an posted it without reading. what are you trying to say here?
from the link: Our results indicated that the rate of photosynthesis in CAM plants remained constant throughout the experiment (photosynthetic rate = 0 ppm CO2/min/g), while an obvious change in photosynthetic rate was observed in C3 and C4 plants (photosynthetic rate in C3 = -21.7 ppm CO2/min/g; photosynthetic rate in C4 averages -32.83 ppm CO2/min/g). Do you see the data? Yes, it grows in the dark, but it slows down. CAM plants don't slow down. So, saying respiration happens in the dark is misleading at best... -Loki