Trichomes, THC and UVB light.....

hey Skunk....sure nuf...thanks for clarifying that.....I understand. Yea all those pics you see and marvel at, and yet the real test of "beauty" is in the smell, taste and high of the smoke....not in the physical appearance of the plant....

skunkushybrid said:

An abundance of resin glands is not always a sign of potency. I'm sure this is different in fdd's case as they are his genetics, and he has bred the plant with the right mix of genes.

Certain strains however can look very frosty but contain little in the way of cannabinoids. i suppose I'm saying to just be careful when making comparisons between your own plants and somebody elses, particularly when there is different genetics involved.

Click to expand...

I have three Afghans growing in and aero system.

At week Five I added 48inch T-12 80w Iguana Lamps with 7% uVb @ 12 inches.

I have the UvB light on 12/12

I also shut down my HPS.

I am finishing the grow with three 400w MH and the Lizard lamps

The MH bulbs are Sunmaster Cool Deluxe


These lights are very bad for your eyes and exposure must be limited.

Under the microscope, some of the trichomes have a bright red color in them.

I cut a bud yesterday and will give it a test in a week or ten days.

Check Earls Aero grow - brilliant.

You think that's close enough for the UV lamps?

Fair enough, your plants are not needing the UV to photosynthesise, but I'm using a 300w osram. Here's some info on the bulb...


The Ultra Vitalux from Osram is already a classic in herp keeping. For years it has been the only useful UV bulb for reptiles. The Radium Sanolux is identical in construction with the Osram bulb. Both spot lamps fit into standard E27 lampholders (porcelain sockets strongly recommended) and do not need an external lighting controller. Compared to UV fluorescent lamps the UV output is much higher and has a better effective range with more than 1m. These are excellent prerequisites to provide reptiles with enough UVB. However, you have to be careful with these bulbs because their radiation is so strong that the animals should only be placed in their effective range for 30 minutes a day. The 300W of the Osram Vitalux and the Radium Sanolux require a high quality lampholder with heat resistant ceramic socket.


I've just vegged 2 plants 24/0 beneath that, the light had to be 8-9inches away to prevent stretch.

another pioneer.....walk on EarL! thats great....the outcome will add to our now growing background. so at wk5 you added the uv and exchanged the hps for mh. how long did you vege for....and t5hat was under MH I presume, and then for the first 5wks of flower you used the hps? had you grown this strain before, and if so (or if not) what differences in your grow have you observed? sorry 'bout all the questions.....just really curious. thanks!

I started these plants under a 400hps, and then added more lights as they grew.

During veg they were eventually under (3)400whps,
and (1) 600w hps
and (1) 400w MH,
for a total of 2200w, until the 5th week of flower.

Now they are under three 400w MH, and the floro.

I have not grown this strain before,
so the final evaluation will be subjective.

I had a White Widow plant that I chopped some,
and then added the lizard light.

There is a diiference in flavor.

The uvb exposed budz are sweeter smelling
and did cure faster.

It's hard to tell if the stone is better,
because after two hits you're overserved.

My Afghans have lost most of the skunk smell,
and have become more piney smelling.

hey Earl....thanks so much for the clear and definitive answers....much appreciated!

WHOA!! 2200 watts.....I had a good chuckle when I first read that.....man o man....thats sum bright I'll bet! have you ever had any temp or other issues?

Thanks again for sharing.....walk on man! love your grow!

Not in the winter.

oh right...ok......and what will all of us do with GW and the potentially eventual shift in climate norms......I too rely on winter for temp management.....ahhhh....the challenges of our personal hobbies...

.

So M.H. are the best lights to have to add UVB light? And it is true then, in your opinions, that UVB light is benificial? Sorry didn't have much time to read the entire thread! But I am curious as I am in the light buying phase...

hey man...thanks for popping on in....yea there is some evidence that the addition of uv light improves the crop. Iam not sure if it would be more beneficial with an MH vs. a HPS. In some circles it is recommended to combine the MH with the HPS and then as my personal preference, add the uv light to that.....but there continues to be debate. I used CFls for vegeing and then a super HPS for flowering (that the way the turnkey setup came) and I sure can't complain with my result so far....

Well I've just vegged and am still vegging (due to circumstance) 2 plants in a pure UV environment.

So if the plant can grow in this environment, and still mature after just 4 weeks, I'd say that UV is certainly beneficial to the plants.

the question is, in what respects is the UV beneficial?

The level of radiation that I'm using, I'm very surprised that they aren't dead... and who knows what wonders have been unfolding within the living cells of the plants.

The adaptation process took just a few days. I take this from the brief stutter they had producing the tri-fingered leaves. After that they grew normally. I believe this is because the plant adapted in just 3-5 short days to the harsh environment.

these are cheap seeds, a sensi seeds white label rip off of Serious Seeds AK47. So the genetics do not account for the fast rate of adaption.

skunkushybrid said:

Well I've just vegged and am still vegging (due to circumstance) 2 plants in a pure UV environment.

So if the plant can grow in this environment, and still mature after just 4 weeks, I'd say that UV is certainly beneficial to the plants.

the question is, in what respects is the UV beneficial?

The level of radiation that I'm using, I'm very surprised that they aren't dead... and who knows what wonders have been unfolding within the living cells of the plants.

The adaptation process took just a few days. I take this from the brief stutter they had producing the tri-fingered leaves. After that they grew normally. I believe this is because the plant adapted in just 3-5 short days to the harsh environment.

these are cheap seeds, a sensi seeds white label rip off of Serious Seeds AK47. So the genetics do not account for the fast rate of adaption.

Click to expand...

pure UV? you mean you're using nothing but UV light?? What kind?

Inneedofbuds said:

pure UV? you mean you're using nothing but UV light?? What kind?

Click to expand...

A 300w ultra vitalux. They use them in zoos for the reptiles. Even so the light is held quite far away, and only for 30 minutes a day.

My plants have been under this bulb for nigh on 5 weeks 24/0, and the light is 8-9" away.

just over a week now with the high uv MV lamps and im noticing deser veg and thinker stems and added shorter nodes about qter to 8th " apart so id say there doing good but this is the first week of flowering and there just starting to get good pistilige but ive hear MH and MV lamps take longer for the flowering stage

PKNL said:

just over a week now with the high uv MV lamps and im noticing deser veg and thinker stems and added shorter nodes about qter to 8th " apart so id say there doing good but this is the first week of flowering and there just starting to get good pistilige but ive hear MH and MV lamps take longer for the flowering stage

Click to expand...

can you post some pics?

skunkushybrid said:

Well I've just vegged and am still vegging (due to circumstance) 2 plants in a pure UV environment.

So if the plant can grow in this environment, and still mature after just 4 weeks, I'd say that UV is certainly beneficial to the plants.

the question is, in what respects is the UV beneficial?

The level of radiation that I'm using, I'm very surprised that they aren't dead... and who knows what wonders have been unfolding within the living cells of the plants.

The adaptation process took just a few days. I take this from the brief stutter they had producing the tri-fingered leaves. After that they grew normally. I believe this is because the plant adapted in just 3-5 short days to the harsh environment.

these are cheap seeds, a sensi seeds white label rip off of Serious Seeds AK47. So the genetics do not account for the fast rate of adaption.

Click to expand...

This is also something that i believe in.
Cannabis adapts very quickly to many environments.
Much quicker than other old documents would suggest.

From the picture that you posted the leaf seemed extra dark green which suggests to me anyway that your plant has compensated for the extra uv with a darker thicker leaf skin.

I also think that if or when you flower it under the uv bulb it will do the same thing to the bud and will probably produce more resin as well in an attempt to moisturize itself.

Its also possible/probable that uvb rays are more thc destructive and as a result this is why the plant then produces even more to compensate for its own rate of loss.

Your plant IS actually forming a thicker skin because of the UV.
With added UV light, an increased level of essential oils yields a more powerful scent and flavour. The essential oils also aid in the absorption of UV light , thus a sunscreen for plants. Plants in the wild produce their own kind of “sunscreen,” called flavonoids. Flavonoids screen out some of the more dangerous UVB-type radiation.

more can be found in my post here:
https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/43324-why-uv-important-plants.html

I still find it amazing, and very awesome, that you have grown a plant under pure UV, but can we see some pics please?