Can Cannabis See Infared Light?

I have a night vision security cam that I want to use in my growroom. My question for my fellow growers is..if I use this camera will it affect the light cycle of my grow? The camera emmits infared lighting for night vision and would be plugged in 24 hours. Can cannabis see inafared? Thanks oh knowledgable ones...DD

depends how infra-red it is....

phytochrome is the receptor for red light, and exists in two states P[r] (red light) and P[fr] (far red light)
when exposed to red light, P[r] turns into P[fr]. P[fr] is biologically active, that is, P[fr] causes a response in the plant while P[r] doesnt do any signaling
P[r] goes to P[fr] at 650nm
P[fr] goes to P[r] at 730nm
at least that is, those wavelengths produce the greatest response, they probably respond decently +/- 10 to those value...
from the wiki, oat phytochrome, absorption and wavelength


so basically, when a plant is hit with good light, P[r] -> P[fr] and the response is positive. for instance, in seed germination, some seeds require light to germ. if you shine far red light on them, they will not germ since P[r] is being made in the seed and it doesnt signal anything. when red light hits then, P[fr] is made and it signals that the seed is gettin the good light that it needs to grow and thus it germinates

Phytochrome is also responsible for flowering, since the ratio of P[r] to P[fr] is measured to gauge what light it is receiving. P[fr] reverts to P[r] after a long enough dark period, and this is how they tell how long they have been exposed to darkness.
They have done flowering studies, where they interrupt the dark period with red and far red light. red light causes P[fr] to form, and then the plant thinks its day time again. far red light will simplly force the present active P[fr] to P[r] and a burst of far red light not only does nothing to the flowering, a burst of far red light right after exposure to red light (or any kind of light, i.e white light) will negate the effects that light had, and can therefore be used to restore the plants cycle.


and do you mean you would leave the camera on 24/7 with the infra red light? I dont know what an infrared light over normal light would do, at least that is if the infra red int he camera is within the range that phytochrome can respond to.

850-900 nm are the wavelengths most night-vision security camera LEDs emit. That's pretty much invisible to the plant and shouldn't mess with the phytochrome system.

While the lights are on a bit of extra IR won't matter at all and when it's time to flower: if there's no light under 730nm but some over that (up to 800nm or so) then P(fr) will be converted into P(r) even faster and can cut you dark period shorter by up to a few hours.

well Sheriff and kal j first thank you very much for responding..wow. My problem is the cameras being on 24/7 and my plants at 18/6 so would my plants respond and flower when i shift to 12/12 if the infareds are still on. I have heard that just a small red light on a surge strip could screw up the flowering so i am cautious...DD

There's an easy way for you to check if the camera is safe: turn the lights off and look closely at the IR LEDs surrounding it. If you can't see any red light then it's pretty much guaranteed that they emit far outside the visible range, which can extend to 730nm and more for many people. Any light over 730nm will not interfere with the flowering response.