In the last article, we talked about how your dehumidifier can provide you with a steady, renewable water supply for “free” even during drought conditions – and there’s very little you need to do to keep that water supply clean as long as you follow a few general “best practices.”

If your dehumidifier has been sitting idle, run it for three days before you try to use the condensate water from it. Dehumidifiers that are allowed to sit for more than a couple of days should be dried out as completely as possible in order to discourage mold growth.

The Environmental Protection Agency defined safe contaminant levels in drinking water through the Safe Drinking Water Act, established in 1974. Individual states can establish their own standards if they are at least as strict as the EPA’s.

Contaminant levels should be well within acceptable limits as long as your dehumidifier is in good working order and has proper filtration. However, it’s always a good idea to test condensate water for heavy metals, nitrates, and bacteria – and state law may require you to if you are a commercial grower.

Your dehumidifier will produce condensate water that can be used as-is, provided you keep the filter in place and clean regularly. Dust, bacteria, and other pollutants can contaminate condensate water if the dehumidifier’s filter is absent or not maintained properly.

Keep the filter in place, and follow the filter guidelines for it; clean or replace the filter as directed.

Why? Because just using and reusing condensate water over and over again keeps it clean. As long as you always use a high-quality, clean air filter during operation, the constant recycling of the dehumidifier’s condensate water discourages mold growth.

Don’t overlook a ready, renewable, “free” water supply for your plants, especially if you’re dealing with drought conditions. The condensate water from your dehumidifier is always available. Best of all, it’s free, clean, and safe – as long as you keep just a few best practices in mind.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Quest Hydro? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: https://questhydro.com/
2. Email: info@questhydro.com
3. Phone: 877-420-1330

An ideal control system should be customized to each grower’s requirements and adaptable to their changing needs to operate their facilities exactly the way they want. Jeff Neff, senior application technician with Argus Controls, explains what key elements a complete control system should include, as well as how to choose a system based on an operation’s specific needs.

Jeff Neff: It is important to understand that a control system is a long-term investment that will be connected to the entire operation. A complete control system should be able to address the following elements to ensure an integral solution is being implemented: climate control — which includes CO₂ enrichment, irrigation, fertigation, water treatment, heat distribution, energy management, data sharing and custom applications.

Jeff Neff: Choosing a control system is not an easy task. However, you might want to choose a solution that covers and integrates four main areas: alarms, data recording, equipment monitoring, and remote connection. Another important feature is the ability to override the equipment at the panel. In some situations, it is important to have the ability to use a manual switch.

Jeff Neff: Every operation has different and specific needs, and only a custom-made solution can provide maximum efficiency. For example, you might need a combined panel with line voltage and controllers in one package made specific for only one of your zones. Also, it is important to consider growth and unforeseen changes in the operation — you want to make sure that your control system adapts to your changing needs even if you don’t have to address all those issues at first.

Jeff Neff: A control system is designed and installed based on the horticultural requirements of the operation. Once the needs have been identified, the next step is to find a system that can provide a long-term solution to your plan, and finally, you should define the control application for your control system. Always have in mind that the horticultural requirements should define the system specifications and not let your system limitations define your control system design.

Jeff Neff: In my opinion, a control system should include the following: remote 24/7 support and service, a system that is equipped with lighting protection circuitry, a solution that provides routine backups of settings and software, and one that can easily replace hardware with minimal technical expertise, as this will help reduce downtime.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Argus? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: http://arguscontrols.com/
2. Email: sales@arguscontrols.com

Money is pouring into the Cannabis industry as dispensaries, cultivations, equipment suppliers, attorneys, consultants, and more pop up in cannabis legal states. Like a gold rush, safety is one of those aspects that tends to get overlooked, and that’s where Willow comes in. After a man in California died from inhaling mold in early 2017, potentially contaminated products snapped back into focus.

Slowly but surely, states have been increasing testing requirements to keep up with the pace of business expansion. Just in the past few weeks, Colorado released new mandatory requirements for medical grows and monthly testing for process validated cultivations, which were previously easy ways to avoid strict testing. Aspergillus testing in California is around the corner and the Arizona legislature proposed new microbial testing this week with broad bipartisan support. Enforcement divisions around the country have long teased the idea of randomly testing samples bought in dispensaries to find grows who are circumventing the procedures, and we hope such ideas start to take hold.

Every cultivation strives (or at least, should strive) to grow clean, contaminant-free products. Fungi is a survivor though, and finds ways to grow and spread with even the slightest opening. Here at Willow we understand that mold can pop up when you least expect it, through no fault of the hard working staff.

Ozone has long been used in the agricultural industry to destroy contaminants. Obviously, vegetable growers are not worried about terpene profiles or potency testing, so we’ve worked to develop an ozone generator that will isolate and destroy harmful microbes without any effect on your strains. You can check it out on our website if you’d like to learn more.

Editor’s Note: Ozone (Chemical Formula: O₃) is a substance that is toxic to most organisms, including humans, due to its tendency to produce free radicals and cause cell damage. However, ozone is much more dangerous to organisms without any natural defenses (such as skin or cell walls in plants), so small concentrations are safe to humans and plants, but dangerous to microbes. Please take all necessary safety precautions when using an ozone generator.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Willow Industries? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: http://willowindustries.com/
2. Email: josh@willowindustries.com

Stretching is a term used to describe what happens when cannabis stems experience rapid internodal growth. The phenomenon of stretching is seen in non-cannabis plants as well. Any grower knows that cannabis normally stretches during the vegetative stage and then slightly during the flowering stage. If the stretching extends throughout the flowering stage, then it is very likely that a grower will see lower yields and scraggly plants. This extended and unnecessary stretching makes the overall plant weaker; the infrastructure necessary to support a higher yield is not built, and the plant will bend or break under an increased load.

An example of stretching seen in a seedling.

The cause for extra stretch is typically inadequate light. Not only will inadequate levels of illumination cause stretching, but the wrong type of light can also cause the plant to behave like it’s poorly illuminated. The plant will grow longer stems to in an attempt to reach for more light. In the worst case scenarios, the plant may even try to reach above the light fixture. It is critical that the plant receives the right type and right amount of light throughout each growth stage. The correct spectrum during vegetation and flowering will bulk up the plant’s infrastructure, resulting in much larger roots and stems that can support an additional yield.

It is easy to see that stretching can be controlled in non-cannabis plants. I once worked with a soybean grower using supplemental HPS (8’ above the floor) in an open sky, glass enclosed greenhouse. Normal soybeans only grow to be 12"-18" tall. His soybeans were stretching to 4'-5' tall, trying to reach the sunlight. And because it was stretching, the stems were very weak, sometimes breaking during the growing process. Some of the plants were literally falling to the floor. Obviously this was a pure sign that the plants were not getting what they wanted.

He decided to change the lighting. He introduced broad-spectrum LED lighting about 1’ below the HPS fixtures. The new plants grew to 12"-18" and bushed out, developing much larger roots and stems, providing the necessary infrastructure. The plants were able to support a larger yield. As a caveat, the designed spectrums for all the growing stages contained insect deterrent properties. Insects stayed away from the plants under the LED.

The broad-spectrum of the LED lights satisfied the plant’s need for light. The same phenomena was also experienced by our field-testing cannabis growers; there was little to no stretching during the flowering stage.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Gary Sigman? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: https://www.metaphase-tech.com/
2. Email: G.sigman@metaphase-tech.com

Many flowering plants, Cannabis among them, are called "diurnal" plants; they use the day-night cycle to trigger patterns of growth. This is important to understand when growing plants indoors so that your crop management takes this cycle into account. There are two phases to the growth of most flowering plants: vegetative and flowering. The vegetative cycle focuses on establishing a solid root system, a strong main stem, and ample foliage to absorb light for photosynthesis.

Seedlings can get by with less light intensity until vigorous growth starts; heat is more of an issue. Keep seed beds warm, but not hot, and give enough light to nourish the seedlings without scorching them. If you're starting with seedlings, full-spectrum LED grow lights are a good choice because they give all the light needed without any overheating concerns. Don't use a weak light that causes seedlings to “stretch” in order to get sufficient light.

Once the plants’ roots are established and it’s in the vegetative phase, it will require plenty of light in the right frequencies to stimulate growth. Outdoors, the sun can provide more than enough light in all frequencies, but indoors, it’s up to the grower to give plants the quality of light they need. Leafy plants like Cannabis need a good amount of blue and red light in the proper wavelengths for optimal growth and bud production. Mixing various light sources can approximate cannabis’ needs, but the simplest and ultimately most economical way is through the use of properly designed, full-spectrum LED grow lights.

Editor’s Note: Plasma lights also have a very interesting spectrum, although they produce a lot of heat. There’s always a tradeoff!

A lesser-known and often overlooked process in plants is what is known as phototropism. Plants locate the most powerful light source and turn towards it in order to gather the most energy. An insufficient amount of blue light will of cause the plant to stretch toward the light source and become “leggy” and weak. High pressure sodium (HPS) lamps don't emit enough blue light for proper phototropism. You can solve this with metal halide lamps during the vegetative stage. In our opinion, however, full-spectrum LED lights eliminate the need to change light sources during the grow cycle, which has other benefits as well.

While cannabis plants don't have a "sleep cycle" per se, many growers feel that at least some time in the dark reduces stress and lets them relax and catch up on some other processes that improve plant quality such as root development. At a minimum, Cannabis plants require less than 12 hours of dark to stay in the vegetative cycle, so a good approach is 18 hours on and 6 hours off during the vegetative state. This method saves considerably on energy used for lighting and ventilation with very few negative effects on plant growth.

The flowering phase in Cannabis is triggered by an increase in the amount of dark time. Most growers start by changing their light cycle to 12 hours on and 12 hours off. During this phase, the plants will continue to grow vigorously and require even more light because of its size. Some growers switch to HPS at this time because the plants need more red light than they did previously, and HPS lights provide a high intensity of light. Full-spectrum LED grow lights eliminate the need to switch lights, saving time and money, as well as reducing the need for ventilation to control the large amount of heat produced by HPS lamps.

While it's technically possible to give plants too much light to the point of oversaturation, it's unlikely that you’ll do this with an indoor grow room because you’d probably start a fire in the building first or blow out a breaker. Practically speaking for LEDs, a minimum of 37 watts per square foot is a minimum, and 65-75 watts is your upper limit. Keep in mind that other lighting technology increases your power demands greatly per square foot, so use it wisely.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Black Dog LED? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: https://www.blackdogled.com/
2. Email: sales@blackdogled.com
3. Phone: (800) 380-2291

Pests, diseases, and fungi are more than mere annoyances, they’re grave threats to growers’ livelihoods. Along with the many factors that go into growing a high quality, productive crop, one must constantly keep tabs on potential infestations and the onset of disease. Otherwise... well, we don’t want to go down that road. With that in mind, we’ve decided to continue detailing various plant threats, along with ways to combat and hopefully eradicate the problem before it wipes out or severely debilitates your plants.

As any experienced grower knows, there are sometimes too many plant pests to keep up with. They can differ depending on whether your garden is indoors or outside with Mother Nature. Mostly a problem for outdoor gardens, snails, slugs, and caterpillars are slow-moving, yet sneaky creatures that, if left to their own devices, will devour leaves, vegetation, and root systems. So, it’s best to stop them in their tracks, which can be achieved through preventative practices, predators, and sprays.

These slimy, slow, soft-bodied blobs do most of their feeding at night and leave behind evidence in the form of silvery trails, known as snail trails. Always on a hunt for food, snails and slugs nibble holes in leaves and eat nearly any vegetation including roots. They are especially fond of new growth. Because they’re not the brightest of creatures, deterring them from your garden doesn’t take too much effort.

One of the simplest methods is blocking their paths create an impenetrable perimeter around the garden or individual plants. Because snails and slugs thrive in warm, damp environments, it’s best practice to create a dry perimeter that impedes their progress. You can do this with beach sand -- the saltier, the better -- lime, or diatomaceous earth. You can also pick them off at night or trap them by placing a board on one-inch feet, which serves as a shelter for the creatures. Check beneath the board every few days and clear the area of any pests that took refuge.

If you decide to take the bait approach, be sure to properly set up a slug hotel to keep any harmful ingredients (such as metaldahyde) from reaching the soil and the bait dry while also out of reach from children and other small critters. And, if taking the natural bait route (i.e. a snail/slug party), leave dishes of beer (old metal pie pans or saucers work) near the snail trails overnight and wake up to find fully saturated, dead pests. Other eradication approaches include the predatory decollate snails and alternative sprays.

While some eventually grow into beautiful butterflies, their in-between stage can be a nuisance when they attack plants. They also leave behind feces, which is not a very appetizing addition to your prized plants. While they are most often green, they can come in other colors. Caterpillars have numerous sets of feet along the length of their bodies and love munching upon leaves and foliage, potentially killing plants. It’s best to remove them by hand or with predatory bugs like Trichogramma wasps (aka stingless wasps) and Podisus maculiventris (aka soldier bug). Using homemade sprays containing bacillus thuringiensis bacteria, pyrethrum and rotenone, along with garlic and hot pepper are also fine alternatives.

Another preventative measure for the hungry caterpillar is being aware of any large trees or foliage above or near your plants. They serve as havens for these and other creatures, which can easily drop onto your garden and become problematic.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with EZ-Clone? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: http://www.ezclone.com/
2. Phone: 916-626-3000
3. Email: info@ezclone.com

Statehouse by statehouse, the legalization of marijuana is steadily making its way across the country. As a result, cannabis markets are springing up as entrepreneurs look to cash in on the end of state bans. The legal marijuana trade is relatively young, with grow facility owners and operators still learning the ins and outs of producing large quantities of cannabis crops.

One of the initial challenges discovered in grow house operations is the problem of humidity. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In order to maximize cannabis cultivation, growers must adjust their grows to reach the optimal humidity as well as vapor pressure deficit.

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) reveals the difference between the vapor pressure inside a plant’s leaf and the vapor pressure of the air. Plants depend on the pressure differentiation to extract nutrients through their roots, transport minerals, and perform a variety of other biological processes.

A grower must carefully control their spaces for humidity and temperature in order to create an environment for plants to thrive. In the beginning stages of cannabis maturation, growers should target a VPD of 8.0-11, which translates roughly to a temperature of 77° – 79°F and 65 – 75 percent humidity.

Within the third and fourth weeks, the plants will enter the flowering stage which requires them to uptake more nutrients, necessitating a higher VPD of 10-13.5. Lowering temperatures to 75° – 77°F with a humidity of 55 – 65 percent can achieve the desired VPD.

In weeks five through nine, the VPD should be rise to between 13-15.5, requiring temperatures of 74° – 76°F and a relative humidity between 42 – 51 percent. The cooler temperatures and humidity reduction will facilitate better consistency of irrigation dry downs.

Carefully managing temperature and humidity can help cannabis growers yield robust quantities of higher quality marijuana plants. It’s essential to size a grow’s cooling system so that it exceeds the heat delta that gardens create in order to achieve the ideal VPD range without raising relative humidity to dangerous levels. If a facility runs warm and dry as a result of climate conditions and growing equipment, then integrating a humidifier can aid in reaching the VPD sweet spot.

Editor’s Note: To avoid having dripping water that could potentially create fungal problems, consider using this dewpoint calculator, provided by the Image Permanence Institute.

Polygon's Temporary Climate Solutions allow growers to control the temperature and humidity of their facilities in order to enhance cannabis cultivation. Learn more by visiting today!

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Polygon? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: https://www.polygongroup.com/
2. Email: gustavo.orozco@polygongroup.com
3. Phone: 707-290-0136

Plant growth and development, such as the production of leaves, stems, roots, and floral organs, is the result of primary metabolic processes. The byproducts of photosynthesis are shuttled throughout the plant and utilized in developing tissues. However, these are not the only metabolic processes. There are several other processes in plants such as coloration, warding off predators and infection, promoting pollination and symbiotic relationships, and defense against environmental conditions such as light and temperature. This is what we refer to as secondary metabolism. When secondary metabolism comes into play, resources are diverted away from the primary metabolism (growth) and are used to generate the various attributes seen as crucial to crop quality for human consumption.

When we as humans consume plants as food or medicine, many of the compounds produced via secondary metabolism can have powerful effects on basic bodily functions. We can also experience the alleviation of chronic disease symptoms, the prevention and reduction of cancer symptoms, and insulation against psychological issues like anxiety and stress.

In a controlled growing environment, we can directly influence natural defense mechanisms in plants (aka secondary metabolism) by manipulating light intensity and light quality. In this article, we plan to focus on the secondary metabolites (flavonoids, terpenes, cannabinoids, and others) that plants produce in response to environmental cues, how they affect crop quality, and what you can do to take advantage of these mechanisms.

Editor’s Note: As any good grower should be aware, life is full of tradeoffs. Emphasizing secondary metabolism to the exclusion of primary metabolism can have negative consequences for plants, so a balanced approach is crucial!

In nature, flavonoids primarily serve to interact with the outside environment in some form. They can act to attract pollinators, signal soil microbes for mutually beneficial relationships, protect against oxidation, and defend the plant against harmful wavelengths or excessive amounts of light. Anthocyanins are a class of flavonoids visible as a red to purple coloration of leaf tissue. Red-leaf lettuce and herbs often contain high amounts of these flavonoids, which essentially function as sunblock for plants. When a leaf surface is exposed to blue light (400-500nm) or ultraviolet light (300-400nm) of a high enough intensity (differs between species), the plant’s secondary metabolism is triggered. Blue and ultraviolet (UV) light carry a tremendous amount of energy that can potentially harm various cellular functions within a plant. In order to both protect their tissues from excessive energy and clean up any “free radicals” produced in their cells, plants will produce anthocyanins.

Editor’s Note: Think of deep blue light and UV light like you would x-rays. There is enough energy in these forms of light to do tissue damage. Plants form anthocyanins to protect themselves from this damage.

Accumulation of anthocyanins in response to blue or UV light scales up with increasing light intensity. Plants will always attempt to balance the needs of photoprotection via anthocyanins with the needs of photosynthesis via chlorophyll and carotenoids. It’s important to emphasize that photoprotection is a secondary process of the plant, which diverts energy away from growth. If the light intensity is high enough, a visible change in crop coloration can be observed and plants will show more reds and fewer greens.

Red-leaf lettuce holds more anthocyanins than average lettuce.

Green light (500-550 nm), however, can reverse many defensive functions in plants that are otherwise stimulated by exposure to blue light. Enough green light relative to blue can completely reverse the photoprotection response. For example, red-leaf lettuce grown under a high proportion of green light may not turn red at all. Red-leaf lettuce growers growing under HPS lamps (which have significantly less blue light than green) may struggle to stimulate anthocyanin production. Even adding a fixture that provides additional blue light isn’t likely to stimulate crop coloration unless there is significantly more blue than the portion of green supplied by the HPS, as the proportion of light is what’s important. In such a case, it may be useful to alter crop lighting prior to harvest after the desired amount of growth has occurred. This is referred to as an “end-of-production” light treatment or EOP for short. Recent EOP work by Dr. Garrett Owen and Dr. Roberto Lopez demonstrated an increase in coloration (from green to red/dark red) of four lettuce varieties when provided with 100 µmol/m²s by supplemental LED lighting (red, blue, and a 1:1 ratio) for 5 to 7 days prior to harvest. Their research also demonstrated that incremental increases in supplemental light intensity from 0 to 100 µmol/m²s resulted in increasing amounts of pigmentation. These varieties were also grown under HPS fixtures (providing an additional 70 µmol/m²s). However, this EOP treatment was of insufficient light quality to reach the desired level of crop coloration for market.

The takeaway message for implementing EOP treatments to increase crop quality is that crop coloration is more responsive to blue light so long as it is provided at a sufficient intensity. Additionally, this type of supplemental lighting is more efficient when used as an EOP treatment.

Unlike flavonoids, which are mostly perceived as bitter, terpenes have distinct aromas and flavors. These are very volatile oils that impart the wonderful attributes of flowers, herbs, and medicinal plants. They also greatly increase product quality if produced in sufficient quantities. For example, limonene is the major terpene present in the essential oil of lemons and myrcene for mangoes. The same terpenes can be produced within cannabis. The largest concentrations of terpenes in cannabis are typically found within non-glandular trichomes (IE on cannabis leaves) and glandular trichomes (such as the calyces of cannabis).

Trichomes on a cannabis flower.

Limited research has been conducted on the impact that various wavelengths have on terpene biosynthesis, but numerous plant physiologists believe that specific wavelengths are required for the activation of the metabolism necessary to produce them. What we do know is that increasing light intensity signals certain plants (including cannabis) to produce more glandular trichomes. There is some evidence that these additional trichomes are generated as a localized site for defensive flavonoid secretion (IE photoprotection). The increased synthesis of glandular trichomes also creates new sites for terpene biosynthesis and storage, which can influence overall terpene concentrations in several plant species. Overall, terpene synthesis is a hot topic for researchers who are studying the effects of light intensity and light quality.

Cannabinoids are a unique class of compounds found primarily in cannabis, hence the name. These sticky resinous oils are produced within trichomes during the flowering period and are thought to both protect the developing flowers from insects as sticky traps, as well as protect against excess heat under shifting solar conditions. There are over a hundred different cannabinoids including Δ9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN) and many others. CBG-A (the carboxylated acidic form of CBG) is the precursor substrate for production of THC and CBD. It does not produce the typical marijuana “high,” but certain researchers are evaluating specific medicinal effects, such as alleviating symptoms from neuropathy, degenerative brain disorders, glaucoma, certain cancers, and anxiety. Most varieties of Cannabis have been bred to produce high amounts of THC and/or CBD, leaving behind relatively low concentrations of other cannabinoids that may carry medicinal qualities. Due to the current legal status of cannabis with federal governments around the world, there is very little scholarly research that investigates the effects of various wavelengths and intensity on production of cannabinoids. The work that has been done was performed on cultivars of inferior quality, often several decades ago. However, there is more peer-reviewed research being conducted on cannabis today, and as laws change quality research will be published in this area.

We do know that UV light and possibly even short wavelength (~400-420nm) blue light can stimulate the production of cannabinoids, although production of these secondary metabolites will occur regardless and this effect is only a “boost” in production as opposed to being a requirement (Editor’s Note: As they say, a rising tide raises all the boats). We cannot say much about which wavelengths of light result in increased content of specific cannabinoids, however we are continually investigating the effects of different wavelengths on secondary metabolites.

So long as carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients are not limiting growth of the plant and it is a fast-growing species or cultivar, higher light intensities will result in faster growth and increased production of secondary metabolites. However, light intensities that are too high can damage cells, especially in sensitive species, and result in the production of free radicals such as hydrogen peroxide within cells. On the surface, you might notice this effect as photobleaching if the plant is not photoacclimated to that light intensity. Many growers notice this issue when they are transferring plants from a rooting phase into a highly productive phase under much higher light intensity. As a part of the photoacclimation process, highly productive or fast-growing species will likely accumulate more chlorophyll to harvest more light. If intensity is too high, production of various carotenoids is increased to protect the photosynthetic reaction centers and dissipate some light energy.

This is why increasing light intensity can have diminishing returns since more light is dissipated in response to higher light intensity. To photoacclimate your plants productively with little to no photobleaching, it is best to incrementally increase light intensity or use a shade cloth for a week or two. Slowly acclimating plants to higher light intensities can be achieved using dimmable lights after determining what your desired PPFD will be and creating a series of incremental increases in intensity over time. A less sophisticated way to achieve the same outcome is to gradually decrease the plant-lamp separation over time, thanks to the Inverse-Square Law.

We know that the proportion of wavelengths supplied to plants, as well as intensity, completely changes the photomorphogenic outcomes as well as the phytochemical concentrations. Increasing light intensity induces production of various secondary metabolites in plants as a form of photoprotection. Blue and UV light have the most powerful influence on secondary metabolism relative to other wavelengths and this scales with intensity. From a production standpoint, secondary metabolites often improve product quality both due to their medicinal value for humans as well as their crop coloring effects (shelf appeal). This differs depending on the species and cultivar. Some species and cultivars are more tolerant to this response and require higher light intensities to show any response while others do not.

One proven method to “get the best of both worlds” is to utilize an EOP treatment in which plants grow and develop under optimal conditions for primary metabolism (broad spectrum), and are then transferred beneath a secondary metabolism promoting light treatment (higher intensity or specific wavelengths) prior to harvest after major crop growth has occurred. Overall, the most important aspect to remember is that secondary metabolism diverts resources away from plant growth. When selecting or making any changes to your lighting system, consider these innate plant responses to ensure your system is optimal for your intended species and market.

For more articles regarding lighting and plant growth and development, visit Fluence Bioengineering.

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Want to get in touch with Fluence? They can be reached via the following methods:

1. Website: https://fluence.science/
2. Email: info@fluencebioengineering.com
3. Phone: 512-212-4544