Hydrolife Magazine October/November 2016 (USA Edition)

grow
Topping is additionally effective when
the flower room is full and plants need
to be held in the vegetative stage longer
than necessary. Although this may cause
smaller top flowers and more branches
to manage than necessary to achieve
the desired yield from the upper canopy,
without cutting them back, they may
become unruly, starched specimens that
are unsuitable for maximum output. If
done correctly during vegetative growth,
topping won’t be necessary once the
plants transition to flowering.
Freshly grown branch plant material
is rather pliable, allowing a gardener
to gently bend the stalks in the opposite
direction requiring it to work to correct
itself and allow lower branches to catch
up vertically, allowing for superior
exposure to light. Another option is
to ‘knuckle’ the branch by making an
aggressive bend that creates a 90-degree
near-break in a branch that then
will heal and drastically reduce that
branch’s vertical growth, maintaining
its node sites rather than removing the
branches. It’s usually used for damage
control once things are getting out of
hand vertically in flower.
If executed at the right
time, to the correct degree
and with adequate
lighting, topping a plant
once or twice is usually
all that’s required.
The best practice for limiting unwanted
vertical growth after minimal topping
is to utilize high PAR, or light intensity,
to prevent the plant’s upper branches
from reaching toward the light, as they
are saturated already. This results in the
plant being forced to focus growth on
thicker, stronger branches and increased
vertical height on the lower branches,
while still allowing for the stresses plant
material close to the light to heal with
no consequence once in flower. This is
extremely effective in allowing shorter
plants within a batch to catch up with the
rest for an even canopy as well. While
some lights are now equipped with dimming
capabilities, the other option is to
manually adjust the height of your light
to the desired distance above the plants.
An even canopy of God Kush and Lemon Haze plants in the veg/growth phase at Broken Coast Cannabis.
Although PAR meters aren’t necessary to
accomplish this, they can be a useful tool
to dial in exact light intensity and study
nuances across the garden.
While often best to use the lower
canopy to maximize yield, inevitably
there will be some branches exposed to
limited light. As a result, they are weak
and unusable for any worthwhile flower
production. These should be removed
as they are a waste of the plant’s energy
and susceptible to pests and disease.
The technique of ‘lollipopping’ is the
practice of removing lower branches
with the purpose of focusing more of
the plant’s energy to the higher, more
productive nodes. While effective, it is
important to be conscious of the balance
required, allowing the useful branches
to remain, while removing the rest. It’s
common for gardeners to be overly aggressive,
underestimating the potential
output of the lower branches. The number
of lower branches that are useful will
be strain-specific, as some genetics have
wider leaves, affecting light penetration
through the canopy, and specific genetics
possess varying abilities to have useful
flower production in lower light conditions
at the bottom of the canopy.
A specific strain’s growth pattern and
structure will dictate how it should best
be vegetatively contorted. This is accomplished
by considering the key factors
that influence the creation of an optimal
canopy: growth pattern, plant density,
ability to flower on low-lit branches and
the explosive initial vertical growth in
flower. A well-constructed canopy is
instrumental in increasing yields while
reducing the cost of production.
Ben Burkhardt entered the adolescent
medical marijuana industry in 1998 in San
Francisco and then Los Angeles. He then
relocated to Denver, where he owned
and operated the largest indoor grow
facility in the country, an infused products
division and more than a dozen retail
locations. He is now pursuing national
and international opportunities with his
company Sunlight Green Systems.
24
grow. heal. live. enjoy.
myhydrolife.com