Preventing hermies: light leaks during veg

[FirstTracks]

I've been thinking about this theory for a while.
Reading on the Rez forums once in a while, I read over and over that some rez strains are prone to hermieing indoors but never have any problems outdoors.

This leaves the door wide open for speculation about which part or combination of parts of the outdoor environment is affecting the plants to keep them from turning hermie due to light leak issues.

My hypothesis is that low levels of low intensity light applie during the dark periods during veg will acclimate a plant to light leaks and hermies will cease to be an issue.

I won't be testing this at this time. Just an idea i thought might help others.

Try keeping a non-green colored glowstick in your room during veg, or just a few LEDs placed around the room adistance from the plants.

 

[useless people]

i have never had a plant in veg hermie due to light leaks

 

[Kinderfeld]

I think this thread has an excellent topics. When people say hermie due to light leaks, there is actually a lot more to it. The strain's tendencies, other stresses going on, the period and/or consistency of the leak, the intensity of the leak are just a basic few. So having no hermies even with leaks is possible but you are still stressing your plants and stress just isn't good.

What I have always wondering is like the original poster says or implies and that is the effects of these kinds of stress during veg. Little is known obviously because in all honesty who other than breeders want to see what makes a certain plant hermie in their environment. The outdoors have always bewildered me as to why there is no absolute dark period and yet no light stress. I always just chalk it up to "well, its nature, some things nature does best" while this may obviously be true more scientific information and discussion would be appreciated.

 

[One Love]

The hermi thing is such a big question mark for me, and possibly a lot of other growers. I have had hermi's during several grows, but it was always something that happened on the bottom larfy areas, and there were always very minute light leaks for variable amounts of time. I have a few cuttings that are at different stages, but have both been exposed to light leaks during their veg periods. I will take note and see if they still put out some male parts on their larf areas in the months to come. I know this is, in no way, a controlled experiment, but could provide for further speculation and hypothesis. Anyone else got some change to throw out there?

 

[Scoobs]

There are 3 types of intersex genes:
1) plants go hermie no matter what.
2) plants go hermie with stress.
3) plants never go hermie.

I don't think light leaks are a stress to the plants in the veg stage, like it is in the flower stage.

 

[coolx]

^^ totally missing the point ... he's saying that maybe having some light leaks in veg may acclimitize the plant to light leaks so any during flower won't have an effect.

 

[Capn]

Don't think that'd work but...tis interesting.

 

[FirstTracks]

^^ totally missing the point ... he's saying that maybe having some light leaks in veg may acclimitize the plant to light leaks so any during flower won't have an effect.

thanks coolx

you're right on about my point.

I guess overall, a plant that is grown outdoors, in most cases, deals with a wider variety of environmental conditions than the same plant grown indoors. due to these conditions taking place over time and with varied frequency, plants grown outdoors have time to develop a resistance to stresses and are therefore healthier overall than the same plant indoors.

because of the above, I feel that introducing small amounts of light during the night cycle in the vegetative stages help sthe plant to buld a tolerance to light leaks and will prevent plants that are prone to hermi due to stress from hermiing.

When you say that in the outdoors there is no absolute darkness, that isn't completely true as far as a growing plant is concerned.

The full moon puts out .03 lumen. Combined with all the brightest starts in the sky at any given time and you would probably still fail to achieve 1 lumen. So in regards to growing outdoors, nighttime is very dark.

Tho I have heard stories of people growing near streetlamps and still not getting hermies. Wonder if the cover they put over the hps has anything to do with that.

nighttime is very dark. I cannot argue with you there. The .03 lumens put out by the moon may just be part of that acclimatizing nighttime light I'm talking about and want to mimic. The intensity is very low, and does not remain at its peak for long at a time.

I also feel that stress can be reduced on a plant if light hours are gradually reduced from the veg cycle to the flower cycle. The more gradual the transistion the better. that could be another topic though....

 

[Capn]

I must agree with you, you may be on to something.

 

[Tolpan]

Very interesting thread!

I was one of the growers that had hermie probs and nothing outdoor with chem dd!
Very interesting brothers! I'll keep watching!

Tolpan

 

[Tolpan]

I bought one more pack of chem dd to put them outside and take clones from this plants, perhaps if the mothers grow outside, they are more stable and won't show nanners indoors!?

Tolpan

 

[I N Hail]

hi
Very interesting ,A freind had a plant outside that was hit by light from a streetlight ,very little light made it to the plant ,It did flower but hadmale flowers all over it .We thought it was the strain. ....But maybe it was the light ?




peace I N Hail

 

[maryj315]

So you want to harden the plant to light stress in veg so that it might not hermie in flower due to light stress sounds plausible

Mj

 

[Bretonston]

i have gone in to my veg room alot when lights were off...and my hermied bad in my last two grows..im having a hard time figuring it out.. i think its high stress tho....