whats the best route to take

Okay I have 5 auto's that have stretched to 3 feet they are about 10 weeks old and have been showing sex for the past 6 weeks or so. I switched them from 20/4 to 12/12 about a week ago and still no bud forming what should I do any kind of help is needed should I rip them down and start again. 10ltr pots using soil and bio feeds with a 600whatt hps bulb

Any pics? What kind of autos? Most autos finish around 10 - 12 weeks. Super autos can take much longer. If you've got the room and the time, I don't see any reason why they won't finish.

There's also a fairly new section devoted to autoflowers you might want to check out, and ask this question.

jmward87 said:

Okay I have 5 auto's that have stretched to 3 feet they are about 10 weeks old and have been showing sex for the past 6 weeks or so. I switched them from 20/4 to 12/12 about a week ago and still no bud forming what should I do any kind of help is needed should I rip them down and start again. 10ltr pots using soil and bio feeds with a 600whatt hps bulb

Click to expand...

First of all, if they are truly autos, there is no need to switch them to 12-12. That's sort of the whole point of autos. . .they'll flower under more light than that.

The more light they get in flowering, the more bud mass they'll pack on, so if you have the ability to flower in 20-4 lighting, you'd probably be better off doing so.

Next issue, some so called "autos" aren't. . .in which case you'll have to go to 12-12 (or 14-10, etc).

Lastly, usually it takes about two weeks under 12-12 after switching lights before you get true flower development. Give it a little more time.

If they are 10 week autos they are done. Been done. Most of the autos I've tried are done within 8 weeks of being in dirt.
Most autos nowadays are genetically engineered to grow under a 20/4 light schedule. Don't switch to 12/12 for autos.

BigSteve.

Jogro said:

First of all, if they are truly autos, there is no need to switch them to 12-12. That's sort of the whole point of autos. . .they'll flower under more light than that.

The more light they get in flowering, the more bud mass they'll pack on, so if you have the ability to flower in 20-4 lighting, you'd probably be better off doing so.

Next issue, some so called "autos" aren't. . .in which case you'll have to go to 12-12 (or 14-10, etc).

Lastly, usually it takes about two weeks under 12-12 after switching lights before you get true flower development. Give it a little more time.

Click to expand...

pretty much said it all..

bigsteve said:

If they are 10 week autos they are done. Been done. Most of the autos I've tried are done within 8 weeks of being in dirt.
Most autos nowadays are genetically engineered to grow under a 20/4 light schedule. Don't switch to 12/12 for autos.

BigSteve.

Click to expand...

not always true...my last grow i had a BCN Diesel auto that i had to force flower after 13 weeks of waiting on it to bud...

bigsteve said:

If they are 10 week autos they are done.

Click to expand...

Well, if they were truly "done" the original poster would be asking about how to cure his plants, not why he doesn't have any buds on them!

The fact that they've been showing sex for six weeks under 20/4 lighting without making huge buds just shows that the plants in question aren't truly autoflowering. Again, not every plant advertised as "autoflowering" actually is.

Most autos nowadays are genetically engineered to grow under a 20/4 light schedule. Don't switch to 12/12 for autos.

Click to expand...

While its true that you shouldn't need to run 12/12 for autos, and there is good reason not to, I think we've already established that in this case, the strain in question probably isn't really an auto, and in this case, 12-12 is probably advisable to force flowering.

On the rest of this, autoflowers aren't truly "genetically engineered" in the sense that their genetics have been manipulated in vitro using molecular microbiology techniques. Leaving out the discussion of why you might want to do this, or if its even practical with current technology, I don't think there are any commercially available strains where this is true.

So far as I know, all of these plants are bred in the conventional way by crossing Mommy and Daddy plants, at least one of which has some autoflowering C. Ruderalis genes in it, using conventional pollenization techniques, the same as any other plant.

Again, so far as I know, none of these plants have been selected specifically to perform best under 20-4 lighting; that's just a number that many people have decided via experience seems to work the best for them. Some growers claim 24-0 is the best for their autoflowers.