Thanks for your feedback ...
This is actually one of the things I am trying to nail down ... lighting schedules ... well that and light penetration and defoliation ... both light topics though.
Here's the current link to an article that gave me the idea ...
Flowering Light Cycle Interrupted- Here’s How to Deal with It
As you can see ... they discuss the following ...
The ‘Actual’ Flowering Light Cycle
..., let’s learn what the ‘actual’ flowering light cycle is.
Grow lights need a precise variation of grow light wattage and the light hours. If we divide flowering into a number of sub-stages, here they go ...
Transition > First Buds > Growth of Buds > Buds Ripen
Now here is the best light cycle for flowering at different stages-
Stage 1- Transition Period: 12-10/12-14 Hours of L/D
This is the time when plants transits from vegetative to flowering Stage and the light cycle should be 12-14 hours each day.
On a broad sense, it’s the first 1-2 weeks of flowering stage while plants enters into flowing from vegetative. The plants are still growing and so, the light cycle won’t differ much from what it was during the vegetative cycle.
Stage 2- Spotting the First Buds: 10-8/14-16 Hours of L/D
This is what we call ‘First Buds’ and this is the time while you’ll get to see the first flower growing up(only for female plants). The light/dark cycle should be around 10-8 hours and 14-16 hours respectively.
It takes the whole 3rd and 4th week to complete the process and you’ll see real buds instead of hairy pistils. The growth will slow down, and therefore, you’ve slowed down the amount of light and increase the amount of darkness.
Stage 3- Growth of Buds: 6/18 Hours of L/D
Now, this is the stage which we call the real ‘flowering’. The buds will be found growing up and maturing over time, and the ideal light/dark cycle would be 6 hours of light and 18 hours of darkness.
Why? Well, Flowers grow up because of the build-up of Florigen(A flower hormone). And upon many scientific experiments, it’s proved to build up when it’s dark.
Stage 4- Buds Ripen: 6-0/18-24 Hours of L/D
At this last stage, almost everything about flowering is done. So, no need to change the light/darkness cycle so much. You can keep the lights for 6 hours and the darkness for 18 hours.
Based on situations, some growers decide to provide an uninterrupted 24-48 hours of darkness to induce the ripening process.
For me ... I tried going to an "8/16 hours of L/D" after week 4 of flower in my current Bakerstreet grow.
I confirmed Stage 4 with @Emilya a few weeks ago because I didn't believe it ... but I recall she actually has it documented somewhere that this works ... so I've incorporated it into my skill set.
The color is amazing and they're shiny and super healthy looking. Careful with the cal-mag supplement. Little at a time so you don't end up chasing your tail.
