How does spectrum influence trichome development?

I understand that different colors of light have different influences on plant growth. But, what about trichome development? Are there ways to, let's say, "improve" the quality of the trichomes by using different colors of light, too? Are there chemical changes brought on by the color of the light?

The reason I'm curious is due to my own observation that trichomes grown under "full spectrum white" LEDs seem to take longer to ripen and turn milky, than do trichomes grown under HPS light. I wouldn't have known this except for the fact that my last run was done under my old MH/HPS fixture and everything ripened and became noticeably more fragrant, earlier.

I do understand that plants grown under full spectrum white LEDs, will often yield better. That's also been my experience, too. The problem with that is I'd rather end up with a pound of fire than 5 pounds of something that could have been better.

Is "light mixing" the future?

tstick said:

I understand that different colors of light have different influences on plant growth. But, what about trichome development? Are there ways to, let's say, "improve" the quality of the trichomes by using different colors of light, too? Are there chemical changes brought on by the color of the light?

The reason I'm curious is due to my own observation that trichomes grown under "full spectrum white" LEDs seem to take longer to ripen and turn milky, than do trichomes grown under HPS light. I wouldn't have known this except for the fact that my last run was done under my old MH/HPS fixture and everything ripened and became noticeably more fragrant, earlier.

I do understand that plants grown under full spectrum white LEDs, will often yield better. That's also been my experience, too. The problem with that is I'd rather end up with a pound of fire than 5 pounds of something that could have been better.

Is "light mixing" the future?

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Dial in your LED light fixture and you will finish before any HID lamp combination. More usable light = faster growth and ripening.

Amount of light hours do more for faster than the type of light being used.

tstick said:

I'd rather end up with a pound of fire than 5 pounds of something that could have been better.

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that's my guy right there, quality over quantity.

5 lbs of mids vs 1 lb of fire would not be determined by 1 variable

in the real world, the spectra would result in 5.1 lbs of 27% THC vs 4.9 lbs of 25% thc.

and no one knows it hasn't been studied.

HippieDudeRon said:

Two cannabis cultivars grown outdoors and indoors. Sun grown cannabis was found to have more diverse and abundant terpenes and cannabinoids.

Comparison of the Cannabinoid and Terpene Profiles in Commercial Cannabis from Natural and Artificial Cultivation

Interest in cultivating cannabis for medical and recreational purposes is increasing due to a dramatic shift in cannabis legislation worldwide. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the composition of secondary metabolites, cannabinoids, and terpenes grown in different environmental...

www.mdpi.com

A lot of variables in this one...so just take it for what it's worth.

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Yeah, I'm not sure I know how to interpret information like that. Footnotes?

Wastei said:

Dial in your LED light fixture and you will finish before any HID lamp combination. More usable light = faster growth and ripening.

Amount of light hours do more for faster than the type of light being used.

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I don't disagree that plants love LED light. My question is more in terms of trichome growth and ripening. No matter what LEDs I have used over the years (since about 2012), I have gotten really nice growing plants under them. I never even questioned the superiority of LEDs to that aspect of growing. But I definitely notice a difference in trichome milkiness and overall strength of the smells that the flowers are putting out under HPS. I'm wondering if I can use LEDs for most of the growth and then switch to (or add) HPS for ripening -like after the stretch is done. I just feel like there really is something in the HPS that trichomes respond to better.

furbolg said:

5 lbs of mids vs 1 lb of fire would not be determined by 1 variable

in the real world, the spectra would result in 5.1 lbs of 27% THC vs 4.9 lbs of 25% thc.

and no one knows it hasn't been studied.

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I agree. What I should have asked something in regards to a noticeable improvement in the quality of the trichomes and volatile esters/flavonoids, terpenes, etc. THC percentages don't necessarily equate to flavors and smells. I can get as high (or higher) of a lower THC strain that has a better taste and flavor than I can on a flavorless high THC strain. Been there/Done that many times.

I've wondered about similar things, and experimented on both ends of the 'spectrum'. When I built my first COB light a half dozen years ago, there were lots of threads here about kelvin and impacts. One thing a few of us tried was to look at the graphs and see which had the broadest range. The idea was to see if we could do grows well from start to finish under one COB, and 4000's seemed like the best candidate to me. I did a bunch of grows just under 4k, and they were fine! Frosty, healthy, a bit compact, but that worked well in tents.

Currently I have (2) 5000, (2) 4000, (2) 3500, and (4) 3000 COBs on my light, and I added supplemental UVA and far red bars -- obviously my current objective is to just throw everything at it. I really have no idea if the plants are coming out any better or have more flavor than when I just ran 4k's. That's been a problem, I never really did legitimate side by side comparisons, just kept changing things pretty much every grow (especially the strains, rarely grew the same one twice). Because of all the changes and experiments, I never did really master growing. But it's all smoked well, it's been a fun ride.

tstick said:

I don't disagree that plants love LED light. My question is more in terms of trichome growth and ripening. No matter what LEDs I have used over the years (since about 2012), I have gotten really nice growing plants under them. I never even questioned the superiority of LEDs to that aspect of growing. But I definitely notice a difference in trichome milkiness and overall strength of the smells that the flowers are putting out under HPS. I'm wondering if I can use LEDs for most of the growth and then switch to (or add) HPS for ripening -like after the stretch is done. I just feel like there really is something in the HPS that trichomes respond to better.

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I use Hortilux SHPS for most of my flowering and a while back picked up a 600W 10K 'finishing bulb' as it's supposed to help pump out the resin. Only used it on one grow and that seemed to have lots more sugar than usual.

Day 41 I swapped it in.

OldMedUser said:

seemed to have lots more sugar than usual

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Is sugar a good thing? Does it make buds sticky and gooey? I really don't
like icky sticky stuff. Not that some of it doesn't work, but it's so gooey, and tarry.
Hell, it's even harder to grind up. I don't want it too dry either, but yanno, a nice
happy medium in there?

Oh, I should say, I'm still waiting to get my U/A done. Yanno, it's been since before I
joined RIU that I had a toke. That was sept. 30th. I think I quit to get clean about
mid-Sept. What's that, like 4 or 4.5 months now? Dammit! I remember you helping
me with no-odor extraction/decarb work, for which I'm grateful. But I can't do any
decarb/extract work until I can test on myself, so that my wife can do it. And that is
dependent on the U/A being finished first. Jeeze man! I tell ya! Hope you're doin' well.

tstick said:

I don't disagree that plants love LED light. My question is more in terms of trichome growth and ripening. No matter what LEDs I have used over the years (since about 2012), I have gotten really nice growing plants under them. I never even questioned the superiority of LEDs to that aspect of growing. But I definitely notice a difference in trichome milkiness and overall strength of the smells that the flowers are putting out under HPS. I'm wondering if I can use LEDs for most of the growth and then switch to (or add) HPS for ripening -like after the stretch is done. I just feel like there really is something in the HPS that trichomes respond to better.

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They smell stronger because the HPS is cooking the trichomes. Probably. I've never had good HPS grown weed, but it might just be the shitty growers around these parts.

doughper said:

Is sugar a good thing? Does it make buds sticky and gooey? I really don't
like icky sticky stuff. Not that some of it doesn't work, but it's so gooey, and tarry.
Hell, it's even harder to grind up. I don't want it too dry either, but yanno, a nice
happy medium in there?

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Sugar is just the frosty look that resin glands give the buds. The more of them and the larger they are the more sugared your buds look. That's where all your THC etc is located so the stickier the better. Fresh dry pot will gum up the grinder more than properly cured and dried pot as the resin heads get drier too as they age. Better for doing dry sift too.

I don't grind pot for joints so don't have an issue with that. Little snips in a pipe are all I smoke and the bulk gets made into oil for making other modes of ingestion so the more resin the better in my case.

They don't call it sticky-icky for nought!

My opinion is that the amount of uv definitely effects your results. Cannabis loves the equatorial regions and UV rates are highest around the equator.
supplementing your LED lights with some more light in the UV spectrum will increase your trichomes.
Also- this one is controversial- lowering your light cycle late in bloom- around the last 2 weeks will help them finish strong.
I actually don’t go to 12/12– i go to 11.5 hrs light and 12.5 dark at flip, around 4 weeks before finishing I switch to 10.5 hrs light and last 2 weeks 10 hours of light.
The consensus has been that the growth in flower stage is during the light period- I believe it is more in the dark period.
I did my research and confirmed it myself.
This picture shows the growth after that change to 10.5 and the new growth is obvious at the very top and that light green growth in the middle of the cola.
I know this is going to get crazy with different opinions- please do your own trials- these are strictly my personal experiences.

Bud man 43 said:

My opinion is that the amount of uv definitely effects your results. Cannabis loves the equatorial regions and UV rates are highest around the equator.
supplementing your LED lights with some more light in the UV spectrum will increase your trichomes.
Also- this one is controversial- lowering your light cycle late in bloom- around the last 2 weeks will help them finish strong.
I actually don’t go to 12/12– i go to 11.5 hrs light and 12.5 dark at flip, around 4 weeks before finishing I switch to 10.5 hrs light and last 2 weeks 10 hours of light.
The consensus has been that the growth in flower stage is during the light period- I believe it is more in the dark period.
I did my research and confirmed it myself.
This picture shows the growth after that change to 10.5 and the new growth is obvious at the very top and that light green growth in the middle of the cola.
I know this is going to get crazy with different opinions- please do your own trials- these are strictly my personal experiences.View attachment 5251883View attachment 5251884View attachment 5251883View attachment 5251884

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Pics at 7 weeks after flipping

I run 10k cmh finishing bulbs. They def make a diff.

Jjgrow420 said:

I run 10k cmh finishing bulbs. They def make a diff.

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I wanna know more. I love my CMH. Are they 315 watt's too? And when do you run them?

PadawanWarrior said:

I wanna know more. I love my CMH. Are they 315 watt's too? And when do you run them?

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I have several extra UVA-B lights in both LED & bulb format
I have found that with right amount of UV seeds have a better chance of making it through the first sprout stage I find the part it helps most. A light meter helps. I built some of mine custom some HLG...right combo with little warmer temps helps if its LED but you should be ok

PadawanWarrior said:

I wanna know more. I love my CMH. Are they 315 watt's too? And when do you run them?

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Hey yea sure they are 315w cmh 10000k I'll snap a shot when I can. I run them the last 2 weeks or so before chop

PadawanWarrior said:

I wanna know more. I love my CMH. Are they 315 watt's too? And when do you run them?

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As promised!

They give off a really neat spectrum. Very blue, pics turn out really nice under them as well!

PadawanWarrior said:

I wanna know more. I love my CMH. Are they 315 watt's too? And when do you run them?

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I have a 400W CMH that runs off a magnetic HPS ballast. Both me and the plants really like it. They don't make them anymore unfortunately but GE has one with the same specs I believe. I got so many bulbs now that I shouldn't need any more for the rest of my life. Mostly using EYE Hortilux 600W SHPS for flowering. Never did get a 315.