Supercropping - Twist & crack your way to fatter colas

pineappleman420

Well-Known Member
Then you may understand Vertical Shoot Positioning, VSP, which is what I practice. It's not only a science regarding what to remove and what to retain, it's an art that takes years and plenty of networking with the pros to learn. I finally got it down pat.....
Thanks for the hint. I am planting my vines this spring...8-) It's time i put my yard to max production. Also planting my orchard too!
 

pineappleman420

Well-Known Member
Your talking about your grapes with VSP right?

I am starting to grow my own hops for my craft beers. Trade you a 6 pack for a bottle of wine ;)


Off topic but I've been in commercial agriculture all my life. Family runs a century farm for grass seed and specialty crops... we should start a thread so I can pick your brain about your vineyard ;) I have two rows of Concorde grapes but am a novice and have only attempted making anything birthrate juice a few times.

Do you make wine?

I would second that idea... well here we go follow the link https://www.rollitup.org/t/lets-talk-vinyards-and-orchards.857870/
 
Last edited:

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
I am starting to grow my own hops for my craft beers. Trade you a 6 pack for a bottle of wine ;)

Off topic but I've been in commercial agriculture all my life. Family runs a century farm for grass seed and specialty crops... we should start a thread so I can pick your brain about your vineyard ;) I have two rows of Concorde grapes but am a novice and have only attempted making anything birthrate juice a few times.

Do you make wine?
I'll take that trade. ;) Growing hops should be very rewarding.

Yep, I make wine. My grapes are Aglianico, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Viognier, Vermentino and my favorite red for Texas, at least for me - Tannat. I"m probably one of the only winemakers in Texas that has a flor growing on what is becoming a Fino Sherry. Used the Vermentino grape. Hell, I may be the only one in the U.S. that is doing sherry with a real flor. Also am making wine vinegar with my wine.

Yep, VSP as in.....

Send#1.jpg

TannatGrapes.jpg
 
Last edited:

FranJan

Well-Known Member
http://www.nurserymag.com/Article.aspx?article_id=176600

Some plants regenerate by duplicating their DNA
Ornamental Breeder
Scientists say they now know how herbaceous plants rebound after being pruned or eaten by grazing animals.

| November 12, 2014

From the University of Illinois:

When munched by grazing animals (or mauled by scientists in the lab), some herbaceous plants overcompensate -- producing more plant matter and becoming more fertile than they otherwise would. Scientists say they now know how these plants accomplish this feat of regeneration.

They report their findings in the journal Molecular Ecology.

Their study is the first to show that a plant's ability to dramatically rebound after being cut down relies on a process called genome duplication, in which individual cells make multiple copies of all of their genetic content.

Genome duplication is not new to science; researchers have known about the phenomenon for decades. But few have pondered its purpose, said University of Illinois animal biology professor Ken Paige, who conducted the study with postdoctoral researcher Daniel Scholes.

"Most herbaceous plants -- 90 percent -- duplicate their genomes," Paige said. "We wanted to know what this process was for."

In a 2011 study, Paige and Scholes demonstrated that plants that engage in rampant genome duplication also rebound more vigorously after being damaged. The researchers suspected that genome duplication was giving the plants the boost they needed to overcome adversity.

That study and the new one focused on Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant in the mustard family that often is used as a laboratory subject. Some Arabidopsis plants engage in genome duplication and others don't. Those that do can accumulate dozens of copies of all of their chromosomes in individual cells.

In the new study, Scholes crossed Arabidopsis plants that had the ability to duplicate their genomes with those that lacked this ability. If the relationship between DNA duplication and regeneration was mere happenstance, the association between the two should disappear in their offspring, Scholes said.

"But the association persisted in the offspring," he said. "That's the first line of evidence that these two traits seem to be influencing each other."

Click here to read more.
 

calicocalyx

Well-Known Member
That's interesting that it persists in the offspring. My own experience is that there is a rhythm so to speak in regards to topping and thinning that stimulates growth. I have tied, fimmed, topped, supercropped, my first grows I just let them get one dominant top. I have taken it too far and stunted them too. I have also met several people that swear by any one of the aforementioned styles of canopy development. I use all of them. Well I'm not a fan of fimming and the jury is out on supercropping for me. Obviously lots of variables to consider. Nice link.
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Exactly! I used to never pinch, but now that I have a stretchy sativa, I've learned to crack like crazy whenever a branch tries to escape the canopy. I used to be very scared of doing it, but now I just go in their and crack the hell out of things, like you'd crack a toothpick between 3 fingers. Remove the bones from those stems!! Crack em all up!! lol They won't try to escape again, and it will be a lesson to all the other branches.

Basically I use cracking as a reactive technique, not a planning technique. There's no way I'm going to chop off the top of a branch 2-3 weeks into flowering, and I don't have time for strings and weights anymore.. Just cracky McCrack Crack. They always live.

I disagree with anyone who says there is no reason to bend a plants stem, my baby was growing into the light and so I bent that bitch right over and she is doing great.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
There's no way I'm going to chop off the top of a branch 2-3 weeks into flowering,....
Done it many times, even late during the flowering stretch. The plant will respond by redirecting growth hormones to the dormant bud material that's left as it does when you lay a stem sideways. In fact, I bet that when you "crack" you greatly set back your flowering time.

Theoretically the plant should respond with output like this when in a prostrate position. It's an apical dominance thingie.

LateralFoliarBudding.jpg
 
Last edited:

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
K, well when you let them hit the lights, they die.

Your call. Let them hit the lights, or pull them down.

Also, flowering time is not set back at all. Where is that theory even coming from? The phytochrome system is local, meaning bent stems will not prevent hormones from starting flowering. The hormones come from the flowering sites themselves. More importantly, that is not what I have experienced and not what I have observed. You can see this by looking at trees next to street lights. The area next to the street light will be flowering out of season while the reason of the tree does not flower. If the hormones were systemic, the whole tree would flower. As long as the whole room is dark at night, the whole plant will flower normally. Only light interruptions or certain light spectrums will delay flowering (certain colors will prolong flowering).

Seeing is believing. My eyes have no other choice but to say "nope, flowering time is not affected at all." Cracked branches finish the same time as uncracked.

Keep in mind, I told you the reason I crack is reactionary, meaning I only crack if something is 1 inch from stretching into the light. That's just how it is. What will be will be.

Done it many times, even late during the flowering stretch. The plant will respond by redirecting growth hormones to the dormant bud material that's left as it does when you lay a stem sideways. In fact, I bet that when you "crack" you greatly set back your flowering time.

Theoretically the plant should respond with output like this when in a prostrate position. It's an apical dominance thingie.

View attachment 3349754
 
Last edited:

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
K, well when you let them hit the lights, they die.

Your call. Let them hit the lights, or pull them down.
Or move them outside of the lights and let 'em rip like I"ve done with a few pure sativas. Contrary to the newbie parrots that buds need light to develop, reasone for all the popcorn, well kiddies, they don't. The main portion of the plant needs light for photosynthesis which supports flowers. That's why you have purty apples or avocados deep into the canopy, completely shaded.

DalatOverTheTop.jpg
 

_MrBelvedere_

Well-Known Member
Having 10 trays 4' x 8' using old school SOG Ebb and Flow is not monocropping, each tray has its own strain and reservoir. Each tray has fifty to a hundred short clones. The short plants will of course stretch like crazy after the flip. Each reservoir is using nutrient solution dialed in for that strain. Each light is adjusted per tray so that it's at the correct height. Easy Peazy

All I'm saying is there's two ways to skin a cat and neither way is superior... But doing topping/bending/training/etc of any type may yield superior if you have problems with your plant counts!
 
Last edited:

Sativied

Well-Known Member
Theoretically the plant should respond with output like this when in a prostrate position. It's an apical dominance thingie.

View attachment 3349754
In practice too, couldn't find the pic I had in mind, here's a later shot from the bottom:
st4.jpg

Works great for getting an even amount of similar size cuttings.


Flowering hormones are created initially in leaves and transported down to initiate flower organs.

Life, the science of biology, has few interesting tests on covering part of the plant in darkness.

"Evidence supporting the existence of a flowering hormone in plants comes from several experiments involving cocklebur. This short-day plant will not flower if kept under conditions of long days and short nights. If, however, only one leaf of the cocklebur plant is covered for at least a portion of the day, thus subjecting that leaf to conditions resembling short days and long nights, the plant will flower and produce burrs. This result suggested that leaves measure the length of the night and produce a signal that travels to the flowering parts of the plant."

Also, the hormone auxin is always involved, any cropping influences the hormonal balance requiring the plant to re-regulate itself which in turn can delay flowering (ime). Just a quick example:
"Thus, shoot-localized phytochrome is able to act over long distances, through manipulation of auxin"
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
"Evidence supporting the existence of a flowering hormone in plants comes from several experiments involving cocklebur. This short-day plant will not flower if kept under conditions of long days and short nights. If, however, only one leaf of the cocklebur plant is covered for at least a portion of the day, thus subjecting that leaf to conditions resembling short days and long nights, the plant will flower and produce burrs. This result suggested that leaves measure the length of the night and produce a signal that travels to the flowering parts of the plant."
Tell that to my dog in the summer when sandburs and cockleburs get out of control and she ends up pulling them out of her pads with her teeth! I hate those bastards. Some fields get so bad ranchers have to tie booties on their hunting dogs.
 

WhsprnEye

Active Member
Whsprneye That's awesome so your stink bugs love your plants to,those little mother fuckers I hate um .lol
HEll yeah little bastards are all over my lamp. They luv that heat. They stink like shit too as soon as you step on them. I just got smart and started vacuum. Them.
 

greendave

Active Member
No shit yeah I hate those nasty motherfuckers for me they haven't been as bad as last year but I still have to flush like 10 or 15 a day
 
Top