asf2j
Well-Known Member
whats up guys, im a grad student studying dicot plants for my thesis.
i know im coming off as cocky, but a few of my buddies on this forum were interested in the science of the ladies. so i compiled the basic of the basic from growth to plant hormone communication and why you should go 18/6 and a few other things that should help you identify symptoms and steer clear of potential problems.
hope this helps. i posted it on a buddies grow journal and just copied and pasted it to this new thread.
--------------------------------------------------------
i hope im not coming off as an ass. i know i seem cocky now posting this worthless science on your journal thread, if you dont want it here you can delete....
well as i promised, here is a quick shit list of most of the plant stuff ive been studying for the past couple of years.
hopefully you can apply some of this to your ladies to get some more yield.
here goes.
first off, the fun-damentals. imagine a chloroplast as a stack of pancakes. light hits a nitrogen-magnesium compound in the chloroplast allowing for the transfer of an "excited electron" said electron allows ultimately for the production of NADPH and ATP (the "currency" if you will for ALL biochemical pathways animal and plant.) these AdenoseneTriPhosphate molecules enter into the Calvin Cycle where ALL plants use ATP to litterally fix co2 into G3P(a plant sugar) which can later be converted into glucose and ultimately broken down for more atp. --- so my friend, this is how a plant gets energy. this is called photo respiration having two cycles a light cycle(photocynthesis) and a dark cycle(the Calvin Cycle) o2 is a bi product of photosynthesis and is used within the mitochondria of all plant cells to produce even more ATP. so contrary to popular belief, oxygen is a vital nutrient to plants. water in in photosynthesis is used purely as a system of electron transport for the production of ATP, no water no atp no energy, not a happy ganja plant...
next up, a discussion of plant tissue. really the only important two are meristematic tissue and parenchyma tissue. meristematic tissue is totipotent and undifferentiated. the most notable place to find it is at the tip of roots- where actual "growth" occurs in the roots. and at the tip of stems.
parenchyma tissue is totipotent as well as is the reason why we can take clones. parenchyma exposed to certain hormones will react in vastly different ways.
root discussion- there are three zones to roots. at the very tip of the root is meristematic tissue that is constantly dividing, note that no absorption happens at the zone of division. the next couple of centemeters is the zone of elongation, by means of the plant hormone Auxin, cell walls stretch allowing for growth. the last is the zone of maturation this is the area of a root where root hairs develop and mycorhizal fungi are incorporated in the root system. the zone of maturation is also where absorption takes place, purely through root hairs, not the tap root.
next up- the leaf. the main layers.
1. the cuticle- allows for water conservation and protection.
2. pallisade mesophyll. this is where all of the chloroplasts are located, packed together like a stack of flapjacks(pancakes).
3. spongy mesophyll- less dense than pallisade, this is where gas exchange takes place so that chloroplast can release oxygen and can receive more co2 for glucose fixation in the Calvin cycle. - the most important part of the leaf, gas exchange is regulated by stomata. openings in the underside of the leaf that are opened and closed by guard cells. when water levels are high, stomata open. when it is day, stomata are forced opened due to a rise in internal gas pressure in spongy mesophyll(o2 gas builds as a product of photosynthesis) when it is night, hormones regulated by phototropins stimulate stomata to close, allowing o2 to build for use in mitichondria. hormones are coming up dont worry.
nutrient transport. xylem transports water- always from root to shoot.
phloem transports sugar, from source to sink, that means during photosynthesis sugar is transported from leaf to root. when the plant is not actively producing sugar goes from root to leaf, or in our case BUDSSSSS!!
this next bit is lengthy but worth a glance. plant nutrients and exactly what they do. i'd read it, a few are intersting.
1.o2, - function- cellular respiration, electron transport, component of nearly all organic compoints - not enough= cell death by suffocation
2. co2- the substrate for photosynthesis major component of organic compounds- celldeath starvation
3. h2o- establishment of electrochemical gradients, electron transport- cell death dessication
4.no3 nh4, component of nucleic acids, proteins, hormones, enzymes- chlorosis(yellowing of leaves)
5. potassium(k)- cofactor for enzymes necessary for osmotic adjustment of cells required for synthesis of organic molecules. - chlorosis at margins of leaves, weak stems and shortened internodes.
6. calcium- regulatory role in cell wall structure, membrances and controls movement of hormone comunication via transduction.- necrosis of meristematic tissue, deformation in young leaves.
7. magnesium- major chlorophyll component activates many enzymes- chlorosis in leaf veins, premature leaf dropping.
8. phosphorus- the main component in ATP- dark green leaves with small spots of necrosis
9. sulfur- component in proteins and enzymes- stunted growth, chlorosis
the rest are considered micronutrients and not needed in as large concentrations as the above.
10. chlorine- needed in the water splitting step of photosynthesis- wilting, chlorosis, necrosis and a bronze coloration
11. iron- necessary for the synthesis of new chloroplasts and the cytochromes that absorb specific wavelengths of light- chlorosis of veins in young leaves
12. manganese- electron transfer- spotted necrosis in leaves near veins
13. zinc- used in the synthesis of the hormone Auxin- distorted leaf formation
there are a few more but they really arent that important, you probably wont notice the symptoms of a deficiency.
all of the above 13 nutrients follow the format
nutrient-function-defficiency results in "x"
an intersting side note, nitrogen can be fixed into plants with mycorhizal fungi at the roots in soil, specific fungi for specific plants, i have no clue what goes with cannabis, but im sure with research you could find out.
here is one of the big questions, Why does blue light(higher kelvin ratings) stimulate vegitative growth where as red light (lower kelvin ratings) stimulate sexing and flowering. wellll. heres the answer, and just as you might have thought. the angle of the sun through the seasons provide plants with the spectrums, blue in the summer, red towards the winter. phototropins are proteins in the plant that react to specific wavelengths of light. when the proteins are struck with light, they stimulate the producition of different hormones, obviously hormones for vegetative growth are different from budding hormones.
and here ladies and gentlemen is the reason for using 18/6 as opposed to 24/0
and why 12/12 stimulates flowering.
if you understood all of this so far, then it is safe to assume that you know about day and night and circadian rhythms and the bodies biological clock, well. plants have them too.
there is such thing as a time keeping protein and repressor proteins. in plants this protein is sensitive to light on the 24 hour cycle of light to dark, this protein in plants is called TOC, here is the latest information on it. at dawn repressor genes are activated by light witch over the course of the day slows the production of TOC and therefore decreases concentration, at night when there is no light to produce repressors, TOC levels rise and are circulated through the plant, especially near meristematic tissue where ALL plant growht occurs. it is this oscillation of TOC and repressors over the 18/6 cycle that keep hormones in regulation for vegetative growth.
during the 12/12 cycle- TOC and its repressors are at a certain chemical equilibrium(keep in mind the concentration and therefore times in cycle are different for all plants, cannabis seems to like 12/12 for its hormone equilibrium for flowering)
anyways 12/12 TOC levels stimulate the production of flowering hormones- confused yet, hormones are coming up.
just like an athlete using steroids, never using your god given testosterone means you'll have stunted testosterone production when you kick the steroids.
same in plants, if you leave it on 24/0 cycle, youll never achieve the proper hormone regulation for flowering, well you will get better vegetative growth,and buds too, just not nearly as potent as if you had done it the way natures intends, so remember, light and dark, cycles of TOC regulate expression of hormones, mainly gibberellins and ethylene.
this next bit is weird but true, ive done the test in my graduate labs, Plants know when you touch them. this is why if you keep a gentle fan on your stems, they will get thicker to resist damage and movement as well as keep the plant bushier and inhibit it from growing to tall.
here is the most important part, HORMONES. i will discuss them after i list them and there functions.
1. Auxin- Fnction- involved in cell elongation and phototropism(detection of light), induces ethylene poroduction.
2. gibberellins- promote stem growth, seed germination, and the development of big beautiful flowers.
3. cytokinis- promote cell division in the presence of auxin, as well as chloroplast development, also delay the aging process.
4. abscisic acid- limits meristematic bud growth and inhibits seed germination, induces closure of stomata in response to water stress.
5. ethylene- involved in fruit ripening and flowering- the most interesting and useful hormone
6. systemin- triggers plant defense to insects.
alright now for some application an explanation
1. auxin, makes cell walls in stems stretchy, auxins always gather away from light, this is the reason a plant bends towards light. think about it. the side away from the light gets stretchy so the plant droops towards the light, kind of genious if you ask me.
2. gibberellins- have you ever seen a giant strawberry or wander why if you grow a water mellon its small, not like the ones at the store. well, plants sprayed with gibberellins grow HUGE fruits and flowers. the bigger the flower, the bigger the ovary, the bigger the bud, all of that means lots of gibberellin hormone.
3. cytokinins- sorry i dont know alot about these- lol
4. abscisic acid- the reasons why we soak seeds to get them to germinate is that soaking them leaches out abscisic acid which inhibits germination.
5. ethylene- this hormone is awesome, it is a gas, have you ever seen a green banana that wasnt ripe, the reason it turns yellow is that ethylene gas(the hormone) is produced in the fruit, its also produced in the plant not just the fruit. what cool about it is that its production grows exepenetially and ripens the fruit faster and faster. when i get my pot growing i plan on introducing gibberellins and ethylene gas while it is flowering, excess of these hormones should mean quicker, bigger, bad ass buds, i wouldnt try it yet though alto, i dont want to be responsible for ruining your crop, let me experiment first, lol
6. systemin- is produced in damaged cells, when a critter eats a leaf, damaged cells produce systemin which acts as a natural pesticide, unfortunately many pests have evolved and are not affected by it. obviously that is why we have pesticides.
and that ladies and gentlemen is the most basic of the basics in understanding why plants do what they do, i hope many of you can use this to your benefit in the understanding of natures primary organic producers.
i know im coming off as cocky, but a few of my buddies on this forum were interested in the science of the ladies. so i compiled the basic of the basic from growth to plant hormone communication and why you should go 18/6 and a few other things that should help you identify symptoms and steer clear of potential problems.
hope this helps. i posted it on a buddies grow journal and just copied and pasted it to this new thread.
--------------------------------------------------------
i hope im not coming off as an ass. i know i seem cocky now posting this worthless science on your journal thread, if you dont want it here you can delete....
well as i promised, here is a quick shit list of most of the plant stuff ive been studying for the past couple of years.
hopefully you can apply some of this to your ladies to get some more yield.
here goes.
first off, the fun-damentals. imagine a chloroplast as a stack of pancakes. light hits a nitrogen-magnesium compound in the chloroplast allowing for the transfer of an "excited electron" said electron allows ultimately for the production of NADPH and ATP (the "currency" if you will for ALL biochemical pathways animal and plant.) these AdenoseneTriPhosphate molecules enter into the Calvin Cycle where ALL plants use ATP to litterally fix co2 into G3P(a plant sugar) which can later be converted into glucose and ultimately broken down for more atp. --- so my friend, this is how a plant gets energy. this is called photo respiration having two cycles a light cycle(photocynthesis) and a dark cycle(the Calvin Cycle) o2 is a bi product of photosynthesis and is used within the mitochondria of all plant cells to produce even more ATP. so contrary to popular belief, oxygen is a vital nutrient to plants. water in in photosynthesis is used purely as a system of electron transport for the production of ATP, no water no atp no energy, not a happy ganja plant...
next up, a discussion of plant tissue. really the only important two are meristematic tissue and parenchyma tissue. meristematic tissue is totipotent and undifferentiated. the most notable place to find it is at the tip of roots- where actual "growth" occurs in the roots. and at the tip of stems.
parenchyma tissue is totipotent as well as is the reason why we can take clones. parenchyma exposed to certain hormones will react in vastly different ways.
root discussion- there are three zones to roots. at the very tip of the root is meristematic tissue that is constantly dividing, note that no absorption happens at the zone of division. the next couple of centemeters is the zone of elongation, by means of the plant hormone Auxin, cell walls stretch allowing for growth. the last is the zone of maturation this is the area of a root where root hairs develop and mycorhizal fungi are incorporated in the root system. the zone of maturation is also where absorption takes place, purely through root hairs, not the tap root.
next up- the leaf. the main layers.
1. the cuticle- allows for water conservation and protection.
2. pallisade mesophyll. this is where all of the chloroplasts are located, packed together like a stack of flapjacks(pancakes).
3. spongy mesophyll- less dense than pallisade, this is where gas exchange takes place so that chloroplast can release oxygen and can receive more co2 for glucose fixation in the Calvin cycle. - the most important part of the leaf, gas exchange is regulated by stomata. openings in the underside of the leaf that are opened and closed by guard cells. when water levels are high, stomata open. when it is day, stomata are forced opened due to a rise in internal gas pressure in spongy mesophyll(o2 gas builds as a product of photosynthesis) when it is night, hormones regulated by phototropins stimulate stomata to close, allowing o2 to build for use in mitichondria. hormones are coming up dont worry.
nutrient transport. xylem transports water- always from root to shoot.
phloem transports sugar, from source to sink, that means during photosynthesis sugar is transported from leaf to root. when the plant is not actively producing sugar goes from root to leaf, or in our case BUDSSSSS!!
this next bit is lengthy but worth a glance. plant nutrients and exactly what they do. i'd read it, a few are intersting.
1.o2, - function- cellular respiration, electron transport, component of nearly all organic compoints - not enough= cell death by suffocation
2. co2- the substrate for photosynthesis major component of organic compounds- celldeath starvation
3. h2o- establishment of electrochemical gradients, electron transport- cell death dessication
4.no3 nh4, component of nucleic acids, proteins, hormones, enzymes- chlorosis(yellowing of leaves)
5. potassium(k)- cofactor for enzymes necessary for osmotic adjustment of cells required for synthesis of organic molecules. - chlorosis at margins of leaves, weak stems and shortened internodes.
6. calcium- regulatory role in cell wall structure, membrances and controls movement of hormone comunication via transduction.- necrosis of meristematic tissue, deformation in young leaves.
7. magnesium- major chlorophyll component activates many enzymes- chlorosis in leaf veins, premature leaf dropping.
8. phosphorus- the main component in ATP- dark green leaves with small spots of necrosis
9. sulfur- component in proteins and enzymes- stunted growth, chlorosis
the rest are considered micronutrients and not needed in as large concentrations as the above.
10. chlorine- needed in the water splitting step of photosynthesis- wilting, chlorosis, necrosis and a bronze coloration
11. iron- necessary for the synthesis of new chloroplasts and the cytochromes that absorb specific wavelengths of light- chlorosis of veins in young leaves
12. manganese- electron transfer- spotted necrosis in leaves near veins
13. zinc- used in the synthesis of the hormone Auxin- distorted leaf formation
there are a few more but they really arent that important, you probably wont notice the symptoms of a deficiency.
all of the above 13 nutrients follow the format
nutrient-function-defficiency results in "x"
an intersting side note, nitrogen can be fixed into plants with mycorhizal fungi at the roots in soil, specific fungi for specific plants, i have no clue what goes with cannabis, but im sure with research you could find out.
here is one of the big questions, Why does blue light(higher kelvin ratings) stimulate vegitative growth where as red light (lower kelvin ratings) stimulate sexing and flowering. wellll. heres the answer, and just as you might have thought. the angle of the sun through the seasons provide plants with the spectrums, blue in the summer, red towards the winter. phototropins are proteins in the plant that react to specific wavelengths of light. when the proteins are struck with light, they stimulate the producition of different hormones, obviously hormones for vegetative growth are different from budding hormones.
and here ladies and gentlemen is the reason for using 18/6 as opposed to 24/0
and why 12/12 stimulates flowering.
if you understood all of this so far, then it is safe to assume that you know about day and night and circadian rhythms and the bodies biological clock, well. plants have them too.
there is such thing as a time keeping protein and repressor proteins. in plants this protein is sensitive to light on the 24 hour cycle of light to dark, this protein in plants is called TOC, here is the latest information on it. at dawn repressor genes are activated by light witch over the course of the day slows the production of TOC and therefore decreases concentration, at night when there is no light to produce repressors, TOC levels rise and are circulated through the plant, especially near meristematic tissue where ALL plant growht occurs. it is this oscillation of TOC and repressors over the 18/6 cycle that keep hormones in regulation for vegetative growth.
during the 12/12 cycle- TOC and its repressors are at a certain chemical equilibrium(keep in mind the concentration and therefore times in cycle are different for all plants, cannabis seems to like 12/12 for its hormone equilibrium for flowering)
anyways 12/12 TOC levels stimulate the production of flowering hormones- confused yet, hormones are coming up.
just like an athlete using steroids, never using your god given testosterone means you'll have stunted testosterone production when you kick the steroids.
same in plants, if you leave it on 24/0 cycle, youll never achieve the proper hormone regulation for flowering, well you will get better vegetative growth,and buds too, just not nearly as potent as if you had done it the way natures intends, so remember, light and dark, cycles of TOC regulate expression of hormones, mainly gibberellins and ethylene.
this next bit is weird but true, ive done the test in my graduate labs, Plants know when you touch them. this is why if you keep a gentle fan on your stems, they will get thicker to resist damage and movement as well as keep the plant bushier and inhibit it from growing to tall.
here is the most important part, HORMONES. i will discuss them after i list them and there functions.
1. Auxin- Fnction- involved in cell elongation and phototropism(detection of light), induces ethylene poroduction.
2. gibberellins- promote stem growth, seed germination, and the development of big beautiful flowers.
3. cytokinis- promote cell division in the presence of auxin, as well as chloroplast development, also delay the aging process.
4. abscisic acid- limits meristematic bud growth and inhibits seed germination, induces closure of stomata in response to water stress.
5. ethylene- involved in fruit ripening and flowering- the most interesting and useful hormone
6. systemin- triggers plant defense to insects.
alright now for some application an explanation
1. auxin, makes cell walls in stems stretchy, auxins always gather away from light, this is the reason a plant bends towards light. think about it. the side away from the light gets stretchy so the plant droops towards the light, kind of genious if you ask me.
2. gibberellins- have you ever seen a giant strawberry or wander why if you grow a water mellon its small, not like the ones at the store. well, plants sprayed with gibberellins grow HUGE fruits and flowers. the bigger the flower, the bigger the ovary, the bigger the bud, all of that means lots of gibberellin hormone.
3. cytokinins- sorry i dont know alot about these- lol
4. abscisic acid- the reasons why we soak seeds to get them to germinate is that soaking them leaches out abscisic acid which inhibits germination.
5. ethylene- this hormone is awesome, it is a gas, have you ever seen a green banana that wasnt ripe, the reason it turns yellow is that ethylene gas(the hormone) is produced in the fruit, its also produced in the plant not just the fruit. what cool about it is that its production grows exepenetially and ripens the fruit faster and faster. when i get my pot growing i plan on introducing gibberellins and ethylene gas while it is flowering, excess of these hormones should mean quicker, bigger, bad ass buds, i wouldnt try it yet though alto, i dont want to be responsible for ruining your crop, let me experiment first, lol
6. systemin- is produced in damaged cells, when a critter eats a leaf, damaged cells produce systemin which acts as a natural pesticide, unfortunately many pests have evolved and are not affected by it. obviously that is why we have pesticides.
and that ladies and gentlemen is the most basic of the basics in understanding why plants do what they do, i hope many of you can use this to your benefit in the understanding of natures primary organic producers.
Whoa.. it won't let me post in all caps.. 
Anyway, I'm using the sun so I don't need to worry about duplicating sunlight (or, usable wavelengths, PAR - photosynthetically active radiation), but still, it's always quite interesting and I know more about how light travels through water than how terrestrial plants utilize it.