Using uv light to increase resin production

theo212

Active Member
found this somewheres just now:

"I've been pretty intrigued by this theory. Apparently UV light in the early stages of flowering encourages heavy, and early, trichrome formation. I've seen a few side by side grows and the results are pretty interesting. There is definitely a difference between using a UV and not. However there isn't too much info on using UV light in flowering."

and this:

"I believe that trichome production is a form of self-preservation by the plant against UV radiation. Think natural sunblock. There are many, many papers out there supporting this.

Thus it would make sense that UV bulbs, alongside regular grow lights, would increase trichome production. I wonder how a combination of UVB and UVA bulbs would do. I belive you can buy blacklight bulbs that emit mostly in either region: UVB= 290-320nm, UVA= 320-400nm, visible light= 400-700nm, and infrared= >700nm. I definitely wouldn't want to be around the UVB lights when they're on though. That's the stuff you put sunscreen on for.

A big upside to this theory is that the lights are cheap and easily found at pet stores and online. Also they don't require massive amounts of power to run so your electricity bill is not really affected by running them."

and this:

This definitely seems to be the way to go. THC has high capabilities of absorbing UV-B, protecting the plant from the radiation. The idea that the plant would produce more THC to protect it from its presence would seem reasonable. It should also be noted that HPS essentially provides no UV-B, which is most commonly used for indoor flowering. It would definitely seem that there would be a significant opportunity for THC production that is being lost without a source for UV-B.

The reptile lights would probably be the best source. You'd probably need a few unless you found one with a lot of watts (like this one). A tanning light would do it too, but would be pretty expensive I would assume.

I've heard that its best to not leave them on for more than four hours a day because UV-B is harmful to plants, but I would think this is something best determined through one's own experimentation."

also helpful:
I've done a lot of reading about the addition of reptile UV lights in the grow room in the years past. Its best to keep them on a separate timer and have them come on for 4-6 hours in the middle of the photoperiod. So if you on a 12/12 and run the UV Fluorescents for 6 hrs, you would kick them on 3 hours after the lights turn on and 3 hours before them turn off. Most Metal Halide lamps have some UV-B but most of that is blocked by the glass on the cooled reflector.

thoughts anyone? that stuffs all just off forums so who knows?
 

yesum

Well-Known Member
I doubt the sunpulse gives off much uvb. they do not list numbers on it.

the reptile bulb I use does give off a lot of uvb and I measure it with a uvb meter so I know. Metal halides have uvb but the glass barrier stops it dead.
 

whazzup

Well-Known Member
UVA and UVB has a significant influence on plants. Not only the thickness of the leafs and morphology are influenced, but also the levels of terpines, flavonoids and cannabinoids. The trichome is the only part of the plant that actually absorbs this high energy radiation. Have a look at plasma lamps. That's one of the reasons why they work so well (the Gavita have a UVA/UVB transmitting filter). I would administer the UV during the complete grow, and in the right amount, and prefrably using a wide spectrum light. .

here is a some bud grown under a combo of HPS and plasma.

P1100733.jpg

P1100732.jpg

edit: this is a huge bowl btw :D
 

Ztelthy

Active Member
Hi, I'am gonna watch this thread... I am interested to know what my UV-B lamp will do in my small DIY Cab, if I come across any decent info I'll let y'all be the 1st to know :) - ZTELTHY :leaf:
 

theo212

Active Member
Thanks polyarcturus, that's a great thread. the last question i guess i have is whats the most efficient time to have them running? I'm thinking btwn 4 and 6 hrs a day. Also should they be turned off the last 2 weeks of flowering to stop from degrading THC?
 

sandmonkey

Well-Known Member
UVA and UVB has a significant influence on plants. Not only the thickness of the leafs and morphology are influenced, but also the levels of terpines, flavonoids and cannabinoids. The trichome is the only part of the plant that actually absorbs this high energy radiation. Have a look at plasma lamps. That's one of the reasons why they work so well (the Gavita have a UVA/UVB transmitting filter). I would administer the UV during the complete grow, and in the right amount, and prefrably using a wide spectrum light. .

here is a some bud grown under a combo of HPS and plasma.

View attachment 2444787

View attachment 2444789

edit: this is a huge bowl btw :D
Looks awesome! those Plasma lamps do look impressive... amazing how such a small bulb can produce so much :D
 

Nightmarecreature

Active Member
I did some research on this subject and it's 10% total UVB light output.
400watt = 40 watt reptile lamp
600watt = 60watt reptile lamp
1000watt =100 watt reptile lamp
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
i run mine all day for the ease of timing and for noting more resistant plants, i see no ill effect from running them all day but for maximum efficiency, 4 hours would be sufficient. i would not turn them off last 2 weeks but that is option that is up to you, it does not degraade the growing thc for a short time and thc production should be at its peak in the last 2 weeks i would think this owuld serve to make a riper fruit so to speak, but you could, it would not hurt most would feel the opposite way about it tho, turn it on last 2 weeks to increase potency and change thc to cbn which is still a drug substance.
 

Halamaya

Active Member
I use the uvb reptile lights and led lights my friend uses hps. I olny use 180 watt light he use's 600 watt hps and my buds come out more floral and tighter. I also feel more trichome production. I will continue to use just a couple of 26 watt uvb bulbs through the my whole flower cycle. I read in Ed Rosenthalls book he recommends 10% uvb light. In nature they get the most uvb in the start of the summer, and the least during flowering. The plants really seem to like the uvb bulbs.
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
I did some research on this subject and it's 10% total UVB light output.
400watt = 40 watt reptile lamp
600watt = 60watt reptile lamp
1000watt =100 watt reptile lamp
that would be if you could merge the light sources but often thats not possible. it would be better to think of what you need UV wise in terms of coverage. also note the UV light will not be as intense as say the uv would be if it came from a 400w source. that is important to keep in mind, the lights intensity.
 

hereshegrows

Well-Known Member
It's worth a try, humans produce melenon as a result of UV so it stands to reason but remember to wear 100% UV glasses when working with or in the light. It's very dangerous for your eyes and also not good for exposed skin either. I use a UV light early on to run over my plants to kill off moulds and bacteria. It's in the form of a hand held wand. I also run it in my room for two hours before initial set up as an additional means of sterilization. Hospitals use UV lights to sterilize their rooms and tools, I work in the field.
 

sonofdust

Active Member
It's worth a try, humans produce melenon as a result of UV so it stands to reason but remember to wear 100% UV glasses when working with or in the light. It's very dangerous for your eyes and also not good for exposed skin either. I use a UV light early on to run over my plants to kill off moulds and bacteria. It's in the form of a hand held wand. I also run it in my room for two hours before initial set up as an additional means of sterilization. Hospitals use UV lights to sterilize their rooms and tools, I work in the field.
hereshegrows;
Is it the UV-C lighting used in hospitals ? Germicidal ?
 

hereshegrows

Well-Known Member
Sonofdust: Correct UV-C light for killing bacteria, viruses, fungi and mould. UV-C light is invisible to the human eye. It works by destroying DNA and RNA...so in theory would also damage plants genetic as well, so I'm careful with exposure. UV-B light is what's used in tanning salons.
 

sonofdust

Active Member
Thanks Hereshegrows..
That site you posted was full of good info.. I'll need to make a little adjustment to my filtering system now. :confused:
 

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
That's true. These are pretty good. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752589&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo. I wish they would just come out with HPS bulbs with an added 10% UVB bulb built into an aircooled reflector.
Those suck, unless you have them 6 inches away from your buds. If you're going to PetSmart, you want something more like these:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752615&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12462460&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No
 

Nightmarecreature

Active Member
Those suck, unless you have them 6 inches away from your buds. If you're going to PetSmart, you want something more like these:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752615&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12462460&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

Those bulbs suck! They put out so much heat they are useless for our hobby! The fluorescent bulbs don't put out heat and they last longer. The fluorescents will work great for SOG but your right they dont have much canopy penetration.

The bulbs you posted would work really good if you built a homemade aircooled relfector and ran them so they wouldn't interfere with your HPS lighting.
 
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