Scientific information on molasses' effect on plants

“Molasses and Plant Carbohydrates”
Sugars relating to plant functions for maximum economic
production
Printed by permission of Texas Plant & Soil Lab, Inc., Texas Plant & Soil Lab, Inc. SOIL—WATER—PLANT TESTING & CONSULTING
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS that affect when and how much sugar to use:
a. How much nitrate is in the soil, and plant sap (petiole test).
b. Soil moisture conditions.
c. Sunlight intensity.
d. Temperature.
e. Wind
f. Fruiting stage / load
g. Growth / vigor [shade lower leaves]
The right amount at the right time can improve fruiting and produce normal
plant growth with less attraction for disease and insects.


Needed for healthy plants - fruit production - plant development &
maturity.
Roots take nutrients from the soil and transport them up the stalk thru the
petiole (stem) to the leaves where the sunlight aids the production of
photosynthates (sugars are not the ONLY product of photosynthesis)
carbohydrates (C, H & O), principally glucose (C6H12O6) and then other sugars
and photosynthates are formed.


Plant Sugars and other photosynthates are first translocated (boron is
essential to the translocation) to a fruiting site. If fruit is not available, the
sugars, along with excess nitrates, spur the rapid vegetative growth of the plant
at the expense of creating fruiting bodies (first sink) for the storage of the sugars.
Once the proper balance of environmental factors (heat units, light intensity, soil
moisture, nutrient balance, etc) are met, the fruiting buds form and then fruit
formation gets the first crack at the sugar supply.


Any excess sugars are then translocated to the number two sink, (growing
terminals,) to speed their growth. The left-over sugars, etc. then go to the
number 3 sink, (the roots,) to aid their growth. Here the new root hairs take
up nutrients to help continue the cycle of sugar and other photosynthate produc-
tion, fruiting, growth of terminals and roots.
ADDED SUGARS CAN AID THE PLANT IN SEVERAL WAYS:
-
MOLASSES is probably the best outside source of many sugars, such as table
sugar, corn syrup and several more complex sugars such as polysaccharides
found in humus products.
- Sugar can be added to the soil in irrigation water, drip & pivot being the most
effective.


* In the soil it can:

- Feed microbes to stimulate the conversion of nitrates to the more
efficient NH2 form of N to synthesize protein more directly by the plants.

- The roots can directly absorb some of the sugars into the sap stream to
supplement the leaf supply to fruit where it is most needed, and ALSO directly

feed the roots for continued productive growth.
- This ADDED sugar can also help initiate fruiting buds in a steady-slow
fashion while maintaining normal growth.

-EXCESSIVE amounts of ADDED SUGARS applied foliarly can shock the
plant resulting in shortened growth internodes, increased leaf maturity & initiation
of excess fruiting sites. This can be a short term effect lasting only a few days.
Pollination, soil moisture, nutrient balance and sufficiency as well as
adequate light for photosynthate production decide how much of the
induced fruit can mature.

I also use molasses biweekly. This is the first time I've used it though, so I'll let you know how it works out in a couple of weeks. I haven't really noticed any problems or benefits in plant growth, but I'm hoping it will make the bud taste sweeter. But definitely do not apply molasses as a foliar spray, you'll fuck up your sprayer and clog the plants pours. And absolutely do not use it for hydro grows, you'll completely fuck up everything.

Good post hearmenow

Thanks, pseu. I used molasses from about week 4 of veg and throughout flowering, up until last week. I think it helped my buds swell. I intend to harvest my last remaining girl either tonight or tomorrow.

Yeah I can certainly speak for Molasses.
I used it for the last 2 weeks of veg and continued through flower with it.

I just mix it with my bloom nutes now.
I have been using side lighting for awhile since about 4th week of flower.
They are going into six weeks now.

I am suprised to see the lower buds doing so well.

NICE3: Sugarcane Molasses By-Product Used to Increase Fertilizer Efficiency


A joint cost-sharing grant program of:
U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies and Office of Technical and Financial Assistance
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pollution Prevention

Produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
a laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20586



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Partners: Michigan Biotechnology Institute
Uniroyal Chemical
Galbraith Laboratories
Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company
Cherry Marketing Institute
Michigan State University Department of Agricultural Engineering
SIC Code: 8733
Cost: $812,116 (Industry share: $434,174)
Energy Savings: 547 billion Btu (777 trillion joules)/yr
Environmental Benefits: Nitrogen fertilizers reduced by 50%; decreased carbon dioxide emissions; molasses waste reduction
Economic Savings: $21 million/yr
National Impact (2010): 100 trillion Btu (106 quadrillion joules) saved/yr
Applications: Agricultural, horticultural, and sugar industries; manufacturers of fertilizers and plant biostimulants
Contact: Bill Ives -- DOE's Golden Field Office: (303) 275-4755

Current trends in world population growth indicate that the demand for food will steadily increase, creating greater demand for fertilizers. In addition, fertilization of forest biomass was identified recently as the most cost-effective option for mitigating global warming. However, the fertilizers used in agriculture and other applications are a source of nitrogen pollution of the environment, and fertilizer use is limited in several countries.

The dilemma created by this situation could be resolved by increasing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizers, thereby reducing the amount of nitrogen leached into ground water. With the help of a NICE3 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) and several partners plan to develop a method to increase fertilizer efficiency through the bioconversion of low-value molasses by-product to plant biostimulants.


Challenge: Currently, crops only use 50%-70% of applied fertilizer; the remainder flows through the soil or is lost in other ways, contributing to environmental pollution. The agri-chemical industry is aware of numerous products that claim to promote plant growth while reducing the amount of fertilizer needed. However, these products have not been developed commercially because of their inconsistent performance and complex formulation. Developing a cost-effective method to manufacture a consistent product should change the perception and value of these products.

Solution: Maximum plant growth depends on the availability of 17 essential nutrients. However, simply providing plants with these nutrients is often not enough. Certain compounds in soil must also be present to facilitate nutrient assimilation by the plants. Research has shown that specific fermentation products may facilitate uptake in plant tissue when added to fertilizers.
MBI, along with several state and industrial partners, is developing a method to convert by-products from sugarcane into specific fermentation products. The 3-year project has three phases. The first objective is to develop a cost-effective chromatographic process for separating sugarcane molasses into sucrose and raffinate. The second phase will focus on developing a process for producing and recovering plant biostimulants from the chromatographic raffinate stream. Finally, the biostimulants will be tested in controlled laboratory, greenhouse, and field trials.


Energy Savings: Application of the fermentation products could reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers by 10%-50%. The new technology would save 547 billion Btu (577 trillion joules) each year in energy from fertilizer production. The average energy savings from reduced fertilizer use alone through the year 2010 would be more than 100 trillion Btu (106 quadrillion joules) annually.

Environmental Benefits: The use of nitrogen fertilizers could be reduced by as much as 50%, minimizing leaching into ground water and the rapid increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide could be reversed by the increase in vegetation possible with this technology.

Economic Savings: Hawaiian molasses currently yields a net profit of $2.75 million annually. Using the proposed technology, that amount could soar to about $10.7 million. Furthermore, an increase of just 33% in fertilizer efficiency will reduce the amount of plant nutrients used by 10 million tons (9 million metric tons)/yr, resulting in savings of $6 billion annually. This proposed technology could reduce total annual costs by $21 million compared to the current technology.

Applications: In addition to potentially increasing crop yields, converting low-value sugarcane molasses by-product to plant biostimulants could have a significant effect on the viability of the U.S. sugar idustry. This technology could also be used in forest fertilization, which may have an important role in mitigating global warming.

DOE/CH100093/237
DE93017077
October 1993

NICE3: Sugarcane Molasses By-Product Used to Increase Fertilizer Efficiency

what about all this shit i've been hearing about how horrible molasses is for your plants... Think maybe it depends on what type of grow you're doing? Hydro/soil?

I wouldn't recommend in hydro - it has clogged the lines of some on here. I always make sure in my soil grow that the molasses is completely dissolved in the water first before applying.

Right, after posting I went on ahead and read more about it. Definately not for Hydroponic growers. I would look into it more if I grew in soil, but Hydroponics is so much easier to me...

i use it in my soil grow and it does wonders, all my white russian buds are rock hard and real heavy with tons of trichromes i pair it up with earth juice bloom and co2