Droughting and its medicinal effects in cannabis

[Krissi Carbone]

So after a brief peruse and some pondering over this drouted plant i am wondering where all the amber i saw before the drought has gone.

That I do not know. If it was amber on thr leaves you saw, we know that the flowers end up basically taking that off the leaves and into itself so maybe that? Amber on the flower I couldn't tell you...makes me wonder

And because the plant looks so good right now it has got me thinking about the potential benefits of drouting the thing again

A double drout.

A DD!! Well. Maybe this is capable in hempy since it was broken up?

Any thots?

My thoughts:

A. How is she in recovery?
B. Wait til she is fully recovered before trying again, give her a break
C. How much longer do you think you have
D. We haven't seen a DD yet and the thought is that a secondary drought would not produce the same effect because the plant now "remembers" the drought.
E. If you are up to it, I'm up to you trying it.

I'd like to see if any of these preconceived ideas, thoughts, notions on a 2nd drought prove to hold water or not

 

[nivek]

That I do not know. If it was amber on thr leaves you saw, we know that the flowers end up basically taking that off the leaves and into itself so maybe that? Amber on the flower I couldn't tell you...makes me wonder


A DD!! Well. Maybe this is capable in hempy since it was broken up?

My thoughts:

A. How is she in recovery?
B. Wait til she is fully recovered before trying again, give her a break
C. How much longer do you think you have
D. We haven't seen a DD yet and the thought is that a secondary drought would not produce the same effect because the plant now "remembers" the drought.
E. If you are up to it, I'm up to you trying it.

I'd like to see if any of these preconceived ideas, thoughts, notions on a 2nd drought prove to hold water or not

Great stuff. Many thanks. Very useful.

Gonna look hard tonite.

But its watering day today

If the plant remembering is a problem then i wont let it forget

A bit diluted ferting tonight and right back int a drought

My thinking at the moment

Perhaps i will harvest a bit of the smaller side buds first

 

[Krissi Carbone]

Great stuff. Many thanks. Very useful.

Gonna look hard tonite.

But its watering day today

If the plant remembering is a problem then i wont let it forget

A bit diluted ferting tonight and right back int a drought

My thinking at the moment

Perhaps i will harvest a bit of the smaller side buds first

Sounds like a plan to me. Let us know if you find anything interesting with what you look up. Also curious to see how this goes. It's almost addicting, isn't it? Lol look forward to seeing more from you!

As for Limelight, guys and gals I've never seen a plant switch so much in one day. In 20 hours we turned into what you will see below. With that said, I will be pulling her tonight.

Sorry this one was so short but not to worry, we will run some more in a few weeks in my 5 autos that are @ 56 days.

Here's the final on Limelight and thanks for watching her short drought but huge evolution. She is covered...

NYC DIESEL DAY 3 DROUGHT: TRICHIE SHOTS

 

[Azimuth]

Those trichome covered buds are kind of ridiculous if you think about it. Who woulda thought?

 

[Krissi Carbone]

Those trichome covered buds are kind of ridiculous if you think about it. Who woulda thought?

I think so. I know it's not just me anymore. I just followed and I'm glad I did. Now I have to think of how to make it better

 

[nivek]

Heya friends. Just a note to mention i did put my once droughted plant into a second drought

Just cuz

Chat in eleven days. Tho i will bail if i feel the stress my cherry bomb will

 

[Hafta]

@Krissi1982 , many thanks for this thread.
I just finished the entire thread and have a couple of questions. I wanted to read everything to make sure they weren't already answered. FYI ... I am growing hydro and understand the technique will have to be modified accordingly.

1. Do the drought induced trichomes initiate as clear? @nivek asked a similar question (he was noticing a reduction in ambers, possibly on leaves).
2. Do they mature more quickly than normal trichomes? Many of the photos show mostly cloudy trichomes.
3. @Maritimer stated that the psychoactive effects were more pronounced after droughting. Could this be due to the addition of "immature" trichomes? (clear to partly cloudy)
4. Is photosynthesis required for the production of the additional trichomes? Would you get the same results if you stopped watering/feeding and put the plant in total darkness for 7 - 10 days?

 

[marcus611a]

O

LIMELIGHT DAY 2 DROUGHT: SUGAR SHOTS

This one is ramping it up already! Be back later if I'm not trimming with some trich shots and leaf focus pics!

OMG! Just look at all that sugar!! I love your plants they are so beautiful! Check out what your drought did to mine! Picture say a thousand words... Thank you so much for your help chop down time within the next 2 hours.. Almost looks fake it's so gummed up... And I'm definitely going to have to use gloves when I trim her and some alcohol pads to clean my scissors on the in between halfway point.

 

[Krissi Carbone]

@Krissi1982 , many thanks for this thread.
I just finished the entire thread and have a couple of questions. I wanted to read everything to make sure they weren't already answered. FYI ... I am growing hydro and understand the technique will have to be modified accordingly.

Hiii Hafta!!! Appreciate you taking the time to check in!

1. Do the drought induced trichomes initiate as clear? @nivek asked a similar question (he was noticing a reduction in ambers, possibly on leaves).

Yes, they do not come in amber, they grow as trichomes normally would, in stages from clear to amber. I havent seen the reduction in amber trichomes as Niv saw, just what I noted, I am thinking the reduction was on the leaves. What happens is in an effort to protect the thought to be seeds in the flower, the plant moves its trichomes and increases production to the flower and away from the leaves

2. Do they mature more quickly than normal trichomes? Many of the photos show mostly cloudy trichomes.

I wouldn't say that they mature more quickly, I think it is because of the particular work we choose to drought. As you read, we pick this week because this is when the GRN is sending out all those signals to kick trichome production up as she knows she is finishing soon. So the color change from cloudy to amber or clear to cloudy happens not because of the drought but rather the developmental stage the plant is in. I will note that the trichome balls will plump up during this time however, as a direct result of the droughting not for development reasons.

3. @Maritimer stated that the psychoactive effects were more pronounced after droughting. Could this be due to the addition of "immature" trichomes? (clear to partly cloudy)

I have yet to read anything that links immature trichomes to this. My thoughts and those I discussed with Maritimer suggest that the enhanced psychoactive effects stem solely from the increase in cannabinoids that takes place during the drought when the plant is under severe stress. When you have increases of up to 20, 30% in these numbers, that's how we get this psychoactive, more medicinal end product

4. Is photosynthesis required for the production of the additional trichomes? Would you get the same results if you stopped watering/feeding and put the plant in total darkness for 7 - 10 days?

Yes. The plant needs to be able to continue its normal processes such as transpiration. It's ability to continue to transport and take in nutrients is very important. As previously noted, plasticity plays a huge role in the photosynthetic processes. We keep a close eye on those leaves to make sure that photosynthesis can not only still occur, but occur in the same fashion it would without a drought. The plant will not continue to ripen her trichomes in the dark. The dark period moreso allows for the plant to both breakdown and flush chlorophyll before your harvest. It is said to help preserve terpene flavor profiles but no, the plant can not continue to finish without light

I hope that helps? If it doesn't and you need further info or clarification or find that you thought of more questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

O

OMG! Just look at all that sugar!! I love your plants they are so beautiful! Check out what your drought did to mine! Picture say a thousand words... Thank you so much for your help chop down time within the next 2 hours.. Almost looks fake it's so gummed up... And I'm definitely going to have to use gloves when I trim her and some alcohol pads to clean my scissors on the in between halfway point.

Oh Marcus! Stunning! What a beautiful plant and I am so happy that you found the goodness of the drought! Hopefully next round, you can document their drought for our friends so that they can see the epic transformation for themselves start to finish!

Thank you so much for sharing with us!

 

[Azimuth]

What happens is in an effort to protect the thought to be seeds in the flower, the plant moves its trichomes and increases production to the flower and away from the leaves

Win-win!

 

[Hafta]

@Krissi1982 ,

Yes, they do not come in amber, they grow as trichomes normally would, in stages from clear to amber. I havent seen the reduction in amber trichomes as Niv saw, just what I noted, I am thinking the reduction was on the leaves. What happens is in an effort to protect the thought to be seeds in the flower, the plant moves its trichomes and increases production to the flower and away from the leaves

I was not suggesting a loss of ambers, only a decrease in the percentage of them due to an increase in the number of clear/cloudy trichomes. Since most growers harvest based on the percentage of ambers, should droughting be timed to provide additional recovery time to reach the desired percentage of ambers? I understand that the pre-drought trichomes will continue to "ripen" during drought.

I have yet to read anything that links immature trichomes to this. My thoughts and those I discussed with Maritimer suggest that the enhanced psychoactive effects stem solely from the increase in cannabinoids that takes place during the drought when the plant is under severe stress. When you have increases of up to 20, 30% in these numbers, that's how we get this psychoactive, more medicinal end product

There are many article and studies that identify the different effects determined by trichome translucency/color. Here is a link to one.
Milky vs. Amber
I heartily agree that the increased effects are due to droughting. I am only trying to determine the timing of the drought to achieve the desired percentage of ambers that we all use to trigger darkness and harvest.
I noticed a piece of tape on the trunk of one of your plants. Is that a "stress screw"?

 

[nivek]

@Hafta mentioned that @Maritimer thot there might be enhanced affects from the immature clear trikes

reasons.
I have yet to read anything that links immature trichomes to this. My thoughts and those I discussed with Maritimer suggest that the enhanced psychoactive effects stem solely from the increase in cannabinoids that takes place during the drought when the plant is under severe stress.

just an fyi,, according to ed rosenthal science,, (take it for what it's worth or not worth)

ed rosenthal states that the most psychoactive state of a trichome is when it is clear. when a trike starts to turn cloudy it is degradation of the trichome as it converts from thc to thca, or something similar, something 'less' psychoactive.

and when a trichome is amber, it is fully degraded, not into bad stuff, just into less psychoactive stuff

i certainly regularly harvest early ish and i 'do' notice a kick in the buzz with early weed

just me tho,, and i am super odd

 

[Azimuth]

@Hafta mentioned that @Maritimer thot there might be enhanced affects from the immature clear trikes


just an fyi,, according to ed rosenthal science,, (take it for what it's worth or not worth)

ed rosenthal states that the most psychoactive state of a trichome is when it is clear. when a trike starts to turn cloudy it is degradation of the trichome as it converts from thc to thca, or something similar, something 'less' psychoactive.

and when a trichome is amber, it is fully degraded, not into bad stuff, just into less psychoactive stuff

i certainly regularly harvest early ish and i 'do' notice a kick in the buzz with early weed

just me tho,, and i am super odd

Thanks, Nivek. I've not read Rosenthal, but that makes sense.

I believe the progression is CBG to THC-A to THC to CBN. But I think you are right about the clear degrading to cloudy and further degrading to amber. Starts more racy, ends more couch lock with the progression mentioned.

CBG is the precursor to all of the various cannabinoids if I understand the science. And then each starts out as its acidic version (THC-A, CBD-A, etc.) and then loses a carbon atom (decarboxylates) either by way of time or heat. That decarb process is what gives the psychoactive effect to THC and some of the other cannabinoids as well.

 

[Hafta]

@nivek,
Thanks, but you are not so odd. I also harvest with minimal amber (maybe 10% or less) because I prefer the "get up and go with a smile" effect. Usually it means gardening or trout fishing.
I believe I will do a partial harvest this time since it is the first 100% Sativa I have grown in a cabinet. The plan is to let the second one ripen and then attempt droughting it and letting it recover to a higher level of amber. I hope to have a dramatic difference. One for "wake and bake" and one for "puddling on the couch".
This is from yesterday. There are about 80 of these.

 

[nivek]

Usually it means gardening or trout fishing.

are you sure you are not me?

or perhaps i am you? hmmm,

 

[InTheShed]

when a trike starts to turn cloudy it is degradation of the trichome as it converts from thc to thca, or something similar, something 'less' psychoactive.

I just wanted to point out that the only time THCa converts to THC is through decarboxylation, either with heat or time. The plant only produces cannabinoids with the acid molecule attached.

I believe the progression is CBG to THC-A to THC to CBN.

Unless decarb happens somewhere in there, the "a" remains on the end, e.g. CBGa > THCa > CBNa.

Acid vs Neutral Forms of Cannabis or What Did Cro-Magnon Man Know About Cannabis: GreenBridge Medical: Family Medicine Physicians

There are "acid" and "neutral" forms of every cannabinoid molecule. Early man knew the difference and would either just eat the cannabis raw, or heat it to conv

www.greenbridgemed.com

"All 120 of cannabinoids in a cannabis plant naturally start in “acid form.” When a cannabis plant grows, first as a seedling, next as a growth of leaves or more so when fully flowered, the actual cannabinoid is in the acid form. So before heating, drying or distilling the plant, “THC” is in the THC-Acid form and CBD is in the Acid form."

 

[nivek]

Mature trichome

The trichome caps are bulging. The vast majority remain clear but a few have changed color to white or amber, indicating a change of THC to CBN, a less psychoactive cannabinoid. Photo Dynasty Genetics.

 

[InTheShed]

a few have changed color to white or amber, indicating a change of THC to CBN,

Are you (he) saying that there is no difference between white and amber in terms of [type of] cannabinoid content?

 

[nivek]

Are you (he) saying that there is no difference between white and amber in terms of [type of] cannabinoid content?

'he' is saying

is cbn not a cannabinoid?

he never once mentions anything about anything 'dissapearing'

ok, check that

i dunno about any of that,,

but i 'do' know,, if i hit a bud that is harvested all clear, the buzz is 'enhanced', or at least noticeably different for me

 

[InTheShed]

'he' is saying
is cbn not a cannabinoid?
he never once mentions anything about anything 'dissapearing'
ok, check that

CBNa is a cannabinoid, and it is what THCa degrades to. It's the cannabinoid responsible for couch lock. Does he make no distinction between cloudy and amber? Seems like he's the only one.

Disappearing?