Speed up flowering: More or less light?

[BelieveInKarma]

Hello all,

I have a white rhino about 6 weeks into flowering. Due to time constraints I am looking for a way to possibly increase the rate of flowering to finish it up. It is currently on 12/12 and I was wondering if I were to give it less light if it would bloom faster. Thanks!

[Guest]

yeah, they'll flower faster if you give them 10 hours of light/14 dark

[janvit]

yeah, they'll flower faster if you give them 10 hours of light/14 dark

How will that affect the crop quantity?

[Insomniac]

How will that affect the crop quantity?
It will drop. :joint:

[Old Soul]

Dropping to 10 hrs that late should not make you lose too much in yield.

Peace

[stikky budz]

same Dark,, less light

You should leave the dark hours at 12 and cut down on the light hours.... like 12 dark then 6 light : 18 hour day sorta thing.

ie the 12 hours dark,,,6 hours 40 mins light flowering schedule,,,, which cuts a 8 week flower period down to about 6 n a bit weeks.
9 days per week instead of seven.

[Insomniac]

same Dark,, less light

You should leave the dark hours at 12 and cut down on the light hours.... like 12 dark then 6 light : 18 hour day sorta thing.

ie the 12 hours dark,,,6 hours 40 mins light flowering schedule,,,, which cuts a 8 week flower period down to about 6 n a bit weeks.
9 days per week instead of seven.

I haven't been able to find a cheaper timer that can handle this 18 hour day or I would do it.

[janvit]

same Dark,, less light

You should leave the dark hours at 12 and cut down on the light hours.... like 12 dark then 6 light : 18 hour day sorta thing.

ie the 12 hours dark,,,6 hours 40 mins light flowering schedule,,,, which cuts a 8 week flower period down to about 6 n a bit weeks.
9 days per week instead of seven.

And this realy work??? Thats a great savings on electric bills :jump: , speeding the thing :woohoo: , but only how much that will reduce the final crop? :confused:

[bounty29]

While using the 6:40 on/12 off cycle, the loss of yield is about equal to the loss of flowering time. (Ex. 70% of original flowering time, 70% of yield.) You can get an Intermatic digital timer on amazon.com that works fine for this for about $20. I've got that timer right now, used it for 12/12 with no problems, but I may try the other light schedule in the future.

[Rosy Cheeks]

I agree and disagree with some of the inputs in this thread. First of all, cutting down on the light hours is hardly ever a good idea.
In 1973, two researchers (Valio and Valle) tested the influence on cannabionid content in Cannabis Sativa with different light cycles.
In short, they came to the conclusion that the longer the uninterrupted light cycle was, the higher the cannabinoid (THC) content in the plants.
In fact, between plants grown under 10 hours of light and 12 hours of light, the cannabionid content was twice (!) as high in the 12/12 test group. The researchers concluded that Cannabis needs 12/12 or 13/11 of uninterrupted light in order to reach maximum cannabinoid content. Here's an abstract of their research, the entire study can also be downloaded on the same site (UN office of Drugs and Crime):
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/bulletin/bulletin_1978-01-01_1_page008.html

If you want to cut down light hours on a strain to finish it faster (or force finish a stubborn sativa that refuses to mature), know that when you rush things, you always loose out on quality and quantity. The plant produces flowers and resin up until late flower stage. Therefore, light cycles should never be shortened before peak flower stage, and preferably only in the very last week of the grow.

[ShroomDr]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Rosy Cheeks again.

I agree with everything you said except that last part. IMHO 7 days of a shorter light cycle does nothing. Or at least it is no where near as effective as a 7 day flush. I have tried 7-10 days of a shorter light cycle, and i saw no difference.

I also tried a 3 day dark period before harvest too, and i saw no results (its was DWC, people at AN who use soil swear by it).

[thedarkknight]

to flower faster reduce the light hours and keep the dark hours the same... this reduction of light will mean less yield but it is faster. There's always a price to pay... you can't have things good, cheap, and fast.

ShroomDr - the 3 day trick is really a combination of things that also involves the plant drying out during those days as well as cold temperatues.... soil has the capabilities to stay wet this long and dry out thoroughly, but most hydro simply can't do it because of the quick drying mediums. I've heard of hydro guys using a reduced watering schedule. It doesnt seem like this part of the trick is all that suitable for hyro. Maybe you could try very little water dor dwc... just enough so that the plant doesn't die completely.

[ShroomDr]

to flower faster reduce the light hours and keep the dark hours the same... this reduction of light will mean less yield but it is faster. There's always a price to pay... you can't have things good, cheap, and fast.

ShroomDr - the 3 day trick is really a combination of things that also involves the plant drying out during those days as well as cold temperatues.... soil has the capabilities to stay wet this long and dry out thoroughly, but most hydro simply can't do it because of the quick drying mediums. I've heard of hydro guys using a reduced watering schedule. It doesnt seem like this part of the trick is all that suitable for hyro. Maybe you could try very little water dor dwc... just enough so that the plant doesn't die completely.

I did. I use a 3.5G bucket, and i only had 1 gallon of water in it.

The only think i think i did see that worked, was getting stem rot about a week before harvest. It wasnt horrible, but it did get deep, past the 'bark' of the 'trunk' That yellowed my bitch up fierce.

[thedarkknight]

The only think i think i did see that worked, was getting stem rot about a week before harvest. It wasnt horrible, but it did get deep, past the 'bark' of the 'trunk' That yellowed my bitch up fierce.

hmmm maybe you could try to get rot again lol j/k. hey, whatever works right...

[fatboyOGOF]

i used to do 12/12 then reduce down, in half hour increments, to 10 light and 14 dark. it seemed logical.

i'm too lazy to find the exact quote but in jorge cervantes's new book he states that 12/12 is optimal and that longer dark periods could actually slow down the maturing rate. it seems that corresponds to what Rosy Cheeks said. good find Rosy!

i'm a 12/12 kinda guy now.

who's white rhino are you growing and how is it going? i'm throwing some white rhino from greenhouse into the dirt in a couple weeks.

long weekend! :)

[Rosy Cheeks]

in jorge cervantes's new book he states that 12/12 is optimal and that longer dark periods could actually slow down the maturing rate. it seems that corresponds to what Rosy Cheeks said.

I'm not sure that it corresponds with what I said. Longer dark cycles in autumn is something natural to plants from temperate zones. Tropical plants are used to endless summers and shouldn't really stress from artificial lightning's constant 12/12. The plant's main objective is to be pollinated and spread its seeds.When nights get longer and winter approaches, the plant makes desperate efforts to flower and stay fertile. It doesn't necessarily mean that she matures faster, but perhaps that she makes efforts not to mature, in effect decline and die.

[axel neek]

you don't need a special timer to do an 18 hour day
you just need two regular timers with both set to 6on/6off/6on/6off

[SpacedCWBY]

you don't need a special timer to do an 18 hour day
you just need two regular timers with both set to 6on/6off/6on/6off

Way stoned... Can you explain further??? Just can't think it out right now.

[axel neek]

my mistake, it cannot be done.
Shoulda done the math before I opened my mouth.