As a last resort, the “magic” that consumers, whether therapeutic or recreational, look for in their buds is found in the resin produced by cannabis plants.
The highest concentration of these resins, naturally, is found in the upper buds that normally receive the strongest light – especially in indoor crops with artificial light sources.
There are tiny structures like hairs that can be found in a wide variety of plants, they are called “trichomes”. Cannabis plants that have been selectively bred to contain higher levels of resin tend to have lots of them.
When you grow plants, there are two basic ways to define their properties: genotype and phenotype.
Marijuana Genotype
The genotype of the plant is determined by inherited genetics through cultivation and selection. – This is essential for a successful grow, especially indoors -.
Marijuana phenotype
The phenotype refers to the physical expression that the plant gene has. Basically each chromosome carries a series of genes that are turned on or off, like lights in a switch box, triggered according to the growing environment.
Marijuana resin production is genetic
Properties such as resin production are highly genetic. This provides the basic platform for what growers can expect from their harvest. However, with advanced knowledge of how plants produce resin, it is possible to improve these types of properties using a growing style and technology, such as one artificial light bulb over another.
Cause and effect to achieve better qualities
After repeated tests using the same varieties and a multitude of controlled cultivation situations, it was discovered that there is a cause and effect in terms of obtaining better qualities from the genetics of the chosen medical cannabis.
- Naturally occurring bioactive substances can improve resin levels. In other words, there are 100% natural ingredients in nutritional supplements for growing crops that can favor a higher concentration of resin in the harvested buds. This can help increase dry weight, as well as enhance characteristics including terpene production and profiles. There is no silver bullet so don’t trust impossible promises, but yes there are ingredients in nature that increase trichome production and resin secretion in many crops, including cannabis.
- Wavelength or spectra of artificial light can be altered, making the most of the late or matured buds, to create a kind of light stress that makes the plant secrete more resin, perhaps as a defense mechanism. For example, by incorporating specialized light sources that use red LED projectors as a stimulant, plants will produce higher levels of resin than will plants with the same genetics but do not receive this type of light. Seeing is believing.
- Environmental factors such as carbon dioxide levels and temperature They will also affect resin production from cannabis cultivation; particularly during the ripening process of the harvest. Lower CO2 levels will cause plants to have higher levels of ethylene, the hormone produced by the plant itself that helps in the ripening process and includes resinous glands. In some varieties, the low temperatures will eventually create a stress that causes the plant to mature. Many cannabis plants, due to genetics, take this as a last phase and give whatever they have left through their trichomes and resin secretion. It also stimulates the maturation of the resin already produced, including aromatic properties.
How you treat the crop during and after harvest will also affect the quality and properties of the resins. that your medicinal bud grow has produced, so do it carefully.
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