Photoperiod 12/12 not the best for flower?

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cruzer101

Well-Known Member
Hi people,

I have a few indoor grows under my belt now I have used 250w 400w and 1000w HID lighting as well as T-5 and LED. As I consider LED lighting for flowering I read all this information on what type of light to use, how far to place it from the plant, what color or temp of the light is best to use but one thing seems to remain constant, The time cycle. 18/6 and 12/12. I know some people go 24/7 veg but generally this is what’s used.

When you consider how sensitive cannabis is to light you have to think maybe there is more to it. I am sure I am not the first to consider this, so I thought I would run this by you and see what you think.

I am sure you have noticed the difference between indoor and outdoor production. We try to re-create Mother Nature Including the light cycle but could it be fine tuned for maximum bud production? I have read the actual amount of lumens a plant receives from the sun is around 10,000 at ground level. Please correct me if I am wrong but if that is true then all that's left is the amount of time of the photo period.

This is what I found.

Hours of daylight at 40° Latitude (approximate center of the US)

April 13:14
May 15:22
June 15:00
July 14:49
August 13:48
September 12:31
October 11:10
November 10:01

Take a plant that has an eight week flowering period and would normally be ready in early October if grown outdoors.

At the beginning of flowering period it would be getting 13:48 of daylight.
At the end of the flowering period it would be getting 11:10 hours of daylight.

That’s a 2 1/2 hour difference, yet we keep it at 12/12
How about this?

8 week flower:
Week 1 and 2 at 13/11
Week 3 and 4 12:30/11:30
Week 5 and 6 12/12
Week 7 and 8 11/13

Maybe this is the key to getting better production out of LED lighting.
Has anyone tried this or have any comments?


P.S.I also found out holding down alt, and typing 0176 will give you ° (degree) symbol


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HydroClosetGrower

HydroClosetGrower

Active Member
its funny that someone posted this because i was just thinking about this the other day. being spring right now, the days are continually getting longer which got me thinking about how every day, the length of light time changes. obviously, during the time a plant is flowering in nature, the days are going to be around 12hrs of light, but really only once is there the possibility for exactly 12 hrs. i think this idea does have some credibility, however i don't know if the extra effort would be worth it. you would have to have a precise timer that you repgrogram everyday. imho 12/12 is good enough to trick the plant to think it is the right time of the year, but messing with that by an hour in either direction isn't going to give u much, if any, more yeild. an experiment would be interesting, but i wouldnt expect amazing results..........just my 2 cents
 
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cruzer101

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the 2 cents, Yea, it may not be worth the time, I figure most timers are in 30 min increments. You change it every two weeks. drop 30 min or add it, whatever, you can do it with any timer. Once every two weeks wouldn't be a problem for me.
 
HydroClosetGrower

HydroClosetGrower

Active Member
u know cruzer, reconsidering, i think i might switch my lights to 11/13 towards the end to try to speed things up. i feel like that would be a good subtle hint to the plant to finish maturing--a slight drop in daylight
 
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cruzer101

Well-Known Member
I set up a cabinet grow and have had 4 harvests, the fifth is about ready. I remember on the second grow I tried 10/14 the last two weeks and the results were the buds were tighter then the other grows. I was the same strain. However I was trying s few different things so I am not sure if the lighting was the reason.

I am doing it with these too. we will see.
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