Is the darkness before harvest myth dead

kingzt

kingzt

Well-Known Member
Just curious if anyone still does this. Things I’ve read is that terps would be better and thc content would be higher since light can potentially diminish both. I did 24 hours darkness twice and didn’t notice much. Some of the white pistils changed color that’s about it. Is 24 hours not long enough or is it a complete myth?
 
Herb & Suds

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
kingzt said:
Just curious if anyone still does this. Things I’ve read is that terps would be better and thc content would be higher since light can potentially diminish both. I did 24 hours darkness twice and didn’t notice much. Some of the white pistils changed color that’s about it. Is 24 hours not long enough or is it a complete myth?
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It is nonsense
But the real question should be why did you harvest plants with white pistils?
 
kingzt

kingzt

Well-Known Member
The aspartame in diet coke for flushing really makes the buds burn better but they also got super skinny too.
i had a some satuva dom strains that I wasn’t going to keep in my room after I harvested majority of my plants. So they had some white pistils still. I don’t grow sativas or sativa doms anymore
 
conor c

conor c

Well-Known Member
Idk hard to tell i only ever tried it the once with widow and thats good regardless unless you somehow manage to fuck it up its hard to tell if it made any difference it was a long time ago i only tried 48 hours dark so i wouldnt say it makes a huge difference if any
 
CatHedral

CatHedral

Well-Known Member
Kindbud421 said:
I have seen test pages from same plant (not mine) with 0 dark, 12hrs dark, 24 and 48 hrs dark before harvest. The results were 12-24 hrs dark increased total % from 19% to almost 21 with 0 being the control and 48 hrs there was a slight decline from almost 21 to 20
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Anecdote. You need a larger, externally-reviewed data set under controlled conditions.
 
N

Northwood

Well-Known Member
kingzt said:
Just curious if anyone still does this. Things I’ve read is that terps would be better and thc content would be higher since light can potentially diminish both. I did 24 hours darkness twice and didn’t notice much. Some of the white pistils changed color that’s about it. Is 24 hours not long enough or is it a complete myth?
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It probably does have some benefit. It does make biological sense. Plants cannot photosynthesize in the dark and therefore depend on their reserves of stored carbohydrates for the night. These carbohydrates are obviously not contributing to the enjoyment of your smoke. I don't think I can make it simpler than that, but if anyone is interested in the science behind it then check out published peer reviewed research such as this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4379750/

There are many other papers available if you search, and they're similar in their findings if you search for them on Google Scholar or have a Web of Science subscription. I find it amusing that so many here dismiss this as "bro science" LOL!
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
It probably does have some benefit. It does make biological sense. Plants cannot photosynthesize in the dark and therefore depend on their reserves of stored carbohydrates for the night. These carbohydrates are obviously not contributing to the enjoyment of your smoke. I don't think I can make it simpler than that, but if anyone is interested in the science behind it then check out published peer reviewed research such as this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4379750/

There are many other papers available if you search, and they're similar in their findings if you search for them on Google Scholar or have a Web of Science subscription. I find it amusing that so many here dismiss this as "bro science" LOL!
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Where do they say anything about 48 hours of darkness before harvest?
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
It probably does have some benefit. It does make biological sense. Plants cannot photosynthesize in the dark and therefore depend on their reserves of stored carbohydrates for the night. These carbohydrates are obviously not contributing to the enjoyment of your smoke. I don't think I can make it simpler than that, but if anyone is interested in the science behind it then check out published peer reviewed research such as this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4379750/

There are many other papers available if you search, and they're similar in their findings if you search for them on Google Scholar or have a Web of Science subscription. I find it amusing that so many here dismiss this as "bro science" LOL!
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48 hrs. darkness before harvest is dismissed as bro-science because it's bro-science.
 
N

Northwood

Well-Known Member
They don't. It's not a cannabis study. Unfortunately due to certain laws before, research on cannabis specifically was very much supressed. It is apparently even illegal to smoke or grow or possess in many countries today. In more socially progressive countries that legalized cannabis, most research is undertaken by private multi-billion dollar corporations that keep this research secret.

But this I do know. Cannabis is a plant, and being a plant it photosynthesises during the daylight hours, and feeds on stored carbohydrates during the night. That is unless cannabis is not a plant.
 
N

Northwood

Well-Known Member
Billy the Mountain said:
48 hrs. darkness before harvest is dismissed as bro-science because it's bro-science.
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Citation please?

Plants are very "conservative" so likely 48 hours is too much. In the research, plants store enough easily accessible carbon to last just a bit longer than the regular nighttime cycle. I'm pretty sure that the majority of carbohydrates would mostly be used up within a single cycle as the research says. In other words,, just harvest your plants after their dark period without having their lights turn on in their morning.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that the carbohydrates created during the day for storage during the night represent a pretty small proportion of biomass that would be available for smoking. Lol

But it's not "bro science" that darkness would help lower biomass (carbon) to THC ratio to at least a small degree. Most of the biomass in your bud is likely more stable cellulose and lignin. But who wants to smoke sugar or simple starch? Yuke! Allowing your bud to mellow out in darkness can use those compounds up because... well... cannabis is a plant like any other.
 
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