Causes of trich maturity.....

What causes trichs to mature/amber? Is it the total age of the trich? Is it amount of UV exposure? Is it oxidation? Is it a combo? Will they always mature at the same rate of speed or do these environmental factors enter in? Do they halt maturation in darkness alone or do they require darkness and no available oxygen to prevent further degradation? Discuss...........

Trichs being mature and being amber are 2 different things.

Trichomes turning amber is the result of the THC converting to the less potent CBN, which is responsible for the couchlock/messed up feeling along with other affects. THC converts to CBN through oxidation, I'm not sure how long this takes for trichomes in relation to the age of the THC.

The reason we harvest when trichs are 50amber/50cloudy is because when about half of the THC has oxidized is when you can get the most THC from the plant. So if you harvested when trichs are 10%amber and 90% cloudy, you would be getting less THC than if you harvested at 50amber50cloudy, despite the fact lots of the THC was converted to CBN.

Darkness does not halt the oxidation of the THC, it slows it down. The reason we avoid light when drying and storing is to slow down the aging of the THC. If light hits the buds, the particles gain energy and move more quickly meaning chemical activity speeds up. I would assume storing buds in high temperatures would also cause similar oxidation, but since buds are stored in containers were the air is not being exchanged the process wont continue that quickly.

The trichomes don't all mature at the same rate. That's why when I have the time, I like to harvest in two stages. Take all the ripe bud off the top of the plant, chop an equivalent amount off the rootball, and allow the less mature buds an extra week or two. I've done this about three times now and it always works out well and boost the yield by quite a bit.

BUMP

If Im not mistaken, oxidation is what causes aging on the cell level. I dont think there's too much if any uv in hps lighting? Aithough light and air will degrade thc once harvested.

El Toker, I've grown haze's that ripened from the bottom up. The top would constantly be putting out fresh white hairs and new trichs.

I do understand what yer saying though, exposing the bottom half of more indica dominated strains allows the light to get to parts that were shaded and immature.

I think its jus the nature of the beast with the haze's cuz they jus keep stretching. The more indica would suggest that light does very well influence trich oxidation and aging.

That prolly didn't help any thing, but those are my thoughts on it. lol

Take care... BC

this says UVB causes oxidation that turns thca into thc, also the other important cannabinoids are degraded.
i hung a UVB lamp in my drying cab with this last cut to check this out. i've a handheld microscope to check the color...90% cloudy with a chance of amber.

http://www.halent.com/Resources/Cannabinoids Primer New.pdf

crossing my fingers.

I always find using the tric method for figuring out if a plant is done, very inefficient. I check the tric's on the buds close to the light and find them cloudy with a few amber. The biggest buds that are closest to the light are much more amber in numbers, and the tric's hidden by light or farther away are clear. So, where do you check to get the proper finishing time?

I usually check the buds somewhere in the middle and never check the very close busd to the light. Seems to work out, but I am not so sure it is very accurate. Usually I just go by over-all look of the bud and use past experience to gage, in combination with tric's. After a couple grows with the same strain it's easy to judge.

To answer the question, I think it has to do with age of the plants cycle (obviously not clone age) and how closely situated to the lights. Just my opinion.

TGT

There is no simple answer for your question, untill you dont accept the fact that it occures like a beard on human. Process takes lot of ingedients in proper combination.

It depends on how deep inside you want to in. Best thing to do, is check out the botany site and connect some facts about it.