I don't put much stock in changing potency with an extended dark period, but I do believe that flavor and aroma are enhanced by harvesting at the end of the dark period (whether "extended" or not).
All theories/myths/legends aside, this is my reasoning based on my own experiences:
- Terpenes are volatile compounds. Our noses pick up and detect terpene molecules that have evaporated and wafted into the air.
- Volatile terpene compounds are produced rather consistently by the buds, but they evaporate more quickly when the temperature is elevated and the humidity is lowered (this is just a scientific fact about volatile compounds). These compounds tend to build up overnight, and then get evaporated to some degree when the lights come on (it gets warmer and drier, not to mention the UV light factor). This is why the garden always smells strongest right as the lights come on; the terpenes which built up overnight are volatilized by the higher temp and lower RH when the lights come on.
- By harvesting BEFORE the lights come on, you essentially prevent some of the volatilization from occurring, and hold more terpenes on your buds.
That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.