IDK about 6/18... that seems drastic.
But I do know that ALL of the strains I've grown have grown more during lights off than during lights on, both in veg and in flower. If you watch your indicas closely you will see the same thing. So I think there is something to this.
A poster up above said try it and see. Well that's what the guy in the article did. He tested a theory and found it to be true.
The writer says that because of his testing he now follows this sched:
Veg: 12hr on, 5.5hr off, 1hr on, 5.5hr off = total 13hrs of lights on.
Flower: 6hrs on, 18hr off.
He argues this will give better growth and tighter nodes in veg + bigger/heavier flowers in bloom, while cutting electricity usage by 75-90%. And he explains why, along with his testing results....
His argument centers on the fact that weed has higher photosensitivity (better photosynthesis) at particular times of the day and can only use so much light.
Very interesting.... not only does it cut electricity, I can see how this might help with cutting down on heat problems that some people have. But best of all he says that 6/18 flower sched makes the flowers finish faster, by as much as two weeks.
What the writer didn't say is was whether or not this is limited to certain strains or not. I suspect it would work well with indicas s they are genetically predisposed to similar lighting patterns. But sativas....that are more equatorial where light cycle is almost always 12/12 or close to it... I dunno... might not work so well...
But hardly anybody grows landrace sativas because of long flowering times and almost all indoor strains are crossed with indicas so this method has far more merit than most would here would give credit for...
And if that isnt enough... the article cites commercial grower applications for this method....
Ya...i think it is something worth paying attention too. So im going to give it a shot. Maybe go 15/9 for veg and 9/15 for flower with a strain i've done several times....