Dear
@Maritimer, I wish I had found this thread several months ago, but alas, I've just found you this week. I have been reading Journals, and blog posts, and Extension Agency articles for the past several months to figure out the secret sauce that increases resin and flavonoids. I've read about Mangos and Tomatoes and all kinds of ag fruit that benefits from various applications of this and that and stumbled upon the journal articles quoted earlier in the thread. Before discovering you all here, I purchased a vial of MeJa from PowerGrown, lol. Seems his website has a good reach. Upon receiving my bottle, I realized, *he must buy from Sigma Aldrich and repackage this stuff* No offense, good for him and good for us that we have a source of this Juice of the Gods. But, I have submitted an application for an account at Sigma Aldrich. I'll let you know if I am accepted into their pool of customers. If so, I'll take care of your MeJa needs, if such is requested. So, my research is based on the Journals, and blogs, and Extension Agency materials I've read but I'm not much of one to actually note down the source the info came from. I just accumulate good stuff and then when I need to double down, I have to go find the darn source again. So, if there are questions about what I'm about to say, bring them on and make me go re-do my research. It would be a good lesson for me and *may* (likely not) cause me to note the source. What I have written down in my notes from research is that MeJa works synergistically with the ethylene response system. Some people combine MeJa with Gibberellic Acid applications bc studies show the two enhance each other but anecdotal reports show that the addition of Gibberellic Acid creates a lighter and airier bud that may foxtail but that bud has much greater potency and smell will be strongest than any other combination (including combinations with ABA) or single application of MeJa. My notes say that "up to 100% more trich density and unspecified higher potency is obtained with .45 mL MeJa and .45 mL Gibberellic acid applied at specified growth dates." I, as well as you and others, have noted that applications of MeJa cause the girls to be quite hungry and thirsty and many report loss of vigor and smaller buds (sometimes popcorn buds) result. My hypothesis is that the application of MeJa puts the girls in overdrive and they are starved for nutrients and light (hence the lighter airer buds and deformed 3 petiole leaves). She is telling us that she is under stress and doesn't have the energy to create a 5 or 7 petioled leaf bc of the pest/deer attack she is under/anticipating. I think that I can increase the light intensity and increase feed by 30%. I've noted that sulfur is a key component to building trichomes bc sulfur is a key precursor element needed to build the building blocks (didn't write down the scientific process going on) that create cannabinoids and flavonoids. So, I think I can foliar spray micronized Potassium Sulfate (which I have done now). I noticed that my girls really soaked up the Potassium Sulfate and are asking for more in these days after a Meja treatment. I've noted from my research also that MeJa increases the girls immunity response so they are less susceptible to pest attack, especially those darned two-spotted spider mites, broad mites, and dare I say the word... "russet mite". My notes say that some study out there says that the bugs don't like the taste the girls put on after a MeJa treatment and move on "these aren't the plants you are looking for" kind-of response. This week, I've boldly applied MeJa to a current grow of DJ Short's Blueberry bc many of the blog posts I've read reported on the Blueberry strains reactions and and I had a few growing and so I felt a tad safer Going For It. I'm now a bold four days since treatment which was on day 41 of bloom. I had accidentally over-watered the girls two days before the treatment and they were a bit sleepy and stalled from the over-watering. I figured it would be at least another four days before they would need water again (when they were on a two day wet/dry cycle) but the very next morning after the MeJa treatment, those fabric pots were BONE DRY. Not a drop of water left in them and the girls were a tad droopy looking. I panicked (because I hadn't found you yet!) and gave them a good watering. They soaked it up that day and needed a second watering the following day. They soaked that up but not to the bone dry stage so I'm letting them go to drought and will check in with them tomorrow morning. This is advanced stage stuff! I've got buds swelling and trichomes gleaming and leaves turning white down the edges just four days in. WOW! Magical, lovely, wonderful, exciting, medicine coming my way soon. Back to my notes... I've got notes that say to apply .5 mL / gallon of water once as a foliar feed while in 4" pots to increase immunity responses. Apply .5 mL / gallon of water once as a foliar feed in veg a "week or two before flip" to increase immunity and add strength before puberty hits. Then, the critical spray of .5 mL / gallon of water once as a foliar feed during either week 3 or week 4 of flower because this is the stage where she is creating the epidermal cell structure to hold the glandular trichome that we prize. The final spray is noted to be 15 days before harvest because this is when, per my notes, she is really filling those trichomes with the good stuff. So, this time 'round, I've only had the chance to spray on day 41, 15 days before anticipated harvest to fill the trichomes with good stuff. Next grow, I'm going to experiment with the four layered treatment. I'll be starting that journey in about two weeks unless life throws me a curve ball. So, that's my news. Hope this is a tad helpful.