Top bud

about electricity -- if giving same DLI, it's mostly the same electricity use per day. A Law of thermodynamics assures this ... efficacy of the equipment may be slightly different but the amount of power to provide X DLI is not going to change much whether you do it over 12h or 18h. You can verify this with basic math. You may get 1-2% more efficient use of electricity when not using 100% power? it'll be an insignificantn difference and shouldn't be part of the decision process. So, "16h" is not suboptimal if giving the same DLI. I've got years of using 18h and 16h and growth rates are the same. plus, reputable research shows that as long as you give the same DLI, growth and yield will not be different in any significant way. The reaason you see some anecdotal accounts that say it is less optimal is because they didn't ensure the same DLI was given. you need 111% more power for 16h vs 18h to provide same DLI (all other factors the same) -- 8/9ths reciprocal is 9/8ths or 111.1111111% ------------------- 100w light example.. assuming you have it well-sized for tent and use 100% power in flower... kw-h used for 12, 16 and 18h: 12h 0.100kw/h x 12 hours = 1.2 kw used 18h 0.067kw/h x 18 = 1.2 kw used 16h .075kw/h x 16 = 1.2kw used. Same DLI, same electricity use... maybe a fraction of a percent different in real-world measurements due to different efficacy of driver and diodes at various power levels. Shitty/cheap equipment may see a greater savings at less power/more time contexts

1 - helps spread out hthe plant. It's a manipulation of apical dominance. The tallest growth node on plant will take the most resources and grow the fastest. So, bending things down or damaging the plant can redistribute growth. Use the best tool for the context to get the shape you want and a level canopy (indoor context) 2) is multifaceted... watts doesn't tell enough. efficacy of light can make a big difference. Light in vege phase -- The key is that you don't give a long dark cycle. It doesn't matter if you use 18 or 16 etc. You just shouldn't give anywhere near 10hours of darkness. If you get up near 10+ hours of darkness you will cause flower phase. Distance -- This should be more about even coverage end-to-end. This is about geometry and how light spreads out. There are contexts in which you may need to consider other things as far as distance from canopy, but in an ideal situation it's 100% about best canopy coverage... the best umol/s you can get along edges/ in corners without sacrificing overall average. The frame of the light will impact this the most... tighter diode configurations need more height. A qb might be best around 18"-24" but a 'bar-style' light can be closer. The latter doesn't create as drastic of a hot spot directly under the light. Daily Light Integral is how you measure the amount of light you provided. You can reach max DLI several different ways and they are all roughly equivalent with common sense applied. e.g. don't try to give 38DLI in 1 hours and all is well. ***35-40 dli is a good initial target, but this is only a guesstimate. each garden can be different. you need to fine-tune the exact amount you can give based on growth pattern -- too tight and it needs less... too stretched out and it needs more. obviously dial back from any light damage. so, ~35-40DLI over 16 or 18 or 12 hours is the same thing. The by-rote suggestion of bumping light power 150% in flower is predicated on the change from 18hours to 12 hours. If you give 2/3rds as many hours of light, you need 3/2 or 150% of the previous power to maintain the same DLI. All other factors the same, it is inversely proportional to hours of operation. Reduce hours by half and you have to double the power (1/2 - 2/1). Reduce by 1/4th and you have to give 133% (3/4 - 4/3). Whatever you figure out works best in vege can easily be converted to 12 hour operation based on current hours of operation - *assuming same hanging distance... so the trial and error to fine-tune how much light you give is only done once... *** - you may need to adjust if you have seasonal differences too... temp, rh and ambient co2 dictate how much light you can give... if these are not consistent, then the 'max' dli you can give will not be consistent. Another reason to base hanging distance solely on coverage is that it remains the same as you change hours of light schedule... makes the power adjustment more easily predictable, too. what i do.. I use 16 hours partly because of my limited dimming options. It fits better with my limited options. Also, It keeps a large portion of my electricity use in off-peak hours, which saves a couple bucks. I have 4 hours of overlap not 6 (during vege) at peak kw-h rates. I'm using ~75% power in vege and 100% power in bloom. 16 to 12 hours is 3/4 - 4/3.. so 133% x 75% = 100% and i have the same DLI in flower without even thinking about it. Do what works best.. make sure you are giving as much light as the plant allows (growth pattern!) per day.. that is about DLI not just hours of operation. Rate multiplied by time but incrment is per day not per second and it's relative to 1m^2. You don't need to memorize the math but understanding the gist does help. There are DLI tables that you can reference hours and PPFD to get DLI. dli is an apples to apples comparison regardless of hours of operation or size of garden. That's why it's so useful trying to communicate how much light to provide.

1) its called toppping and a form of HST. growdiaries.com/journal/how-to-do-high-stress-training-hst-on-cannabis Not to be confused with LST growdiaries.com/journal/how-to-do-high-stress-training-hst-on-cannabis 2) Lighting time is based off of how much light your fixture can give, Look up PPFD and DLI for a best guide on how long and close the light should be. Closer = strong, further = less, longer hours= stronger, less hours = less With my lights, to hit a DLI of aorund 37 I have to have uncommon light times. For veg I do 16hrs on and 8hrs off at 40% and 30" hangheight, vs a 18/6 or 20/4 | For flower I do a 11hrs on and 13hrs off at 60% and 30" hangheihgt. vs a common 12/12 This is all based on how strong my lights are. yours will be diffrent and you need to figure that out. Does not have to be crazy details. can tell on the growth of the plant. stretching to much, more light. to compact, less light.

Hi, ive sent a message giving a simple answer to your question mate. Good

Hi, zu dem ersten Teil deiner Frage. Es ist nicht die Bud die weg geschnitten wird beim topping sondern die Spitze der Pflanze in der veg. Phase. Dies sorgt dafür das sich die Äste gleichmäßiger entwickeln. Zu dem zweiten Teil. Grundsätzlich ist es wie alle hier sagen immer gleich 18/6 in veg 12/12 in der Blüte. Dies gilt aber vor allem für Photos und weniger für autoflowers. Die meisten Leute die autoflowers anbauen lassen das Licht über den kompletten Grow auf 18/6. viel Erfolg beim grow

18/6 in vegetative growth and 12/12 for the flowering phase is optimal for photoperiod plants. For autoflowering plants, 18/6 from day one until harvest day is optimal. 16/8 is sub optimal, so why bother? 20/4 is a waste of electricity because plants can only grow so much during any one 24 hour cycle, so again, why bother? NEVER, EVER grow any cannabis plant at 24/0, it is completely un-natural and again, a waste of electricity......besides, ALL cannabis plant NEED a "sleep" period during each 24 hour cycle to do certain metabolic processes that they can not do during the lights on period. Cutting the top bud/main stalk encourages the branches to take over primary growth and grow wider rather than taller. Over many, many years and countless experiments, I much prefer to tie my plants over sideways (low stress training) to get them to grow wider that way, rather than topping/cutting the main bud, as cutting anything off, especially the main stalk, involves a recovery period of up to 2 weeks..........2 weeks that are better spent growing unhindered rather than spending 2 weeks recuperating and getting very little growth.......this fact is worth serious consideration when growing autos with their limited vegetative phase. And yes, next time fill your pots right up to the top with soil, more soil = more roots = more plant = more buds! Also avoid the temptation to cut perfectly healthy green, energy producing leaves off (defoliation) it is not required and just because "everyone else does it" does not mean it is a god idea!........more leaves = more energy being made = more and faster growth. If you are new to growing, "Mandala Seeds" in Spain have excellent grow guides on their website, it is full of information and well worth reading.

Hey, cutting the top bud (topping) makes the plant spread hormones more evenly, so it pushes energy into all branches = more main buds. For light: Autoflowers → I recommend 18/6 the whole grow. Photoperiods → 18/6 in veg, then switch to 12/12 to trigger flowering. Light distance depends mainly on your wattage and the PPFD your plants receive, not on the hours. I Hope it helps for the beginning. 😊

Use 18/6, plants grow faster and healthier vs 16/8, 20/4 . Roll down your pots ( bend outward) next time fill them till verge. Hope you are using dimmer and really healthy 50-100 cm distance, otherwise youll burn seedling I ussually dont top, but in my last grow i could visit them only every 3-5 days, so instead of lst ( for having even canopy ) i went with few toppings, just to break dominance and let other branches to catch up. I still was tucking leaves and exposing side branches to light ...