72 Hrs of darkness pre-harvest & moulting

I am wondering if anyone can answer why or if it is best to let plants sit in darkness before harvest? I have freinds who let them sit 24 hours and others who let them go even longer. I tend to let them sit for about 72 hours before I cut them. I heard the word moulting and was curious if anyone knows what that means to MJ? Does MJ moult after so long in darkness? What is moulting? I can not find anything on it when I try to research.

Moulting is when an animal or insect sheds its skin. Maybe they mean when the plants begins dropping its leaves as it dies. I would imagine that if you deprive a plant of light for long enough it would die. I can't see how this would beneficial though. I harvest right when lights come on in the am. Other than that, nothing special.

Thanks for the reply. The word moulting was used on one of those documentary shows thats palying on current. A couple of Cali guys brought it up but didn't explain it. A few of us have been trying to figure out what they were talking about and we are all stumped. I know about insect moulting but losing leaves wasn't really what they were describing. They went as far as saying that cloudy days can cause moulting. I have never heard of a plant moulting.

I had guys years ago teach me to harvest outdoor during a full moon they swore that that's when the plant is in it's prime. That may just be hillbilly romance but it sounded good 20 years ago. I have heard others say that it helps with the terpens and oil production. I like the idea of harvesting right when the lights turn on better than at the end of a light cycle.

I was looking to see if there was science behind it but with the lack of interest in this topic I will let it go and conclude that it really makes no difference and there is no science.

Sure they werent saying "molding" or "bolting"?

Bolting is when the plant "foxtails" or throws out long slender flower clusters from buds as a reaction to stress.

Resin is produced at night. So the idea is to maximize the last 48 hours with sheer resin production.

I've done it both ways...never noticed a difference.

Personally I wouldn't do it, why? Because as the leaves droop trimming becomes more difficult. You're not going to notice 72hrs of dark compared to 10 weeks of flowering...

The best time to harvest is just before the lights come on so they're are more sugars present than starch, also thricome's are produced at night.

I cut and hang with all the leaves on. Even when the root system is detached from the plant, there are still many processes being carried out in the leaves, stems, and buds until the cell walls dry up and those processes can no longer happen. So, in a sense, I'm getting a response similar to leaving the plant in darkness the last few days. As to whether it benefits the buds or resin production in the long run, I haven't noticed.