It has been classic bro science to keep your plant in the dark for 48 hours before harvest. That kind of stuff has been around since the 90’s. Anyone remember when they recommended it to finish White Widow?
I was doing some research though, and it turns out that the practice of depriving plants of light for 48 hours is a well known thing called “destarching”. It isn’t just bro science, the actual scientific community does this to plants before studying photosynthesis. If you Google the term you will find tons of information on the practice.
What I can’t find is any credible information on its effects to the finished flower in cannabis. I just thought it was an interesting idea to add during this time when we are separating real science from bro science.
If you choose to believe that then you’ll save a little bit on your electricity bill.
But not everything the scientific community does is necessarily the best way.
Perhaps we should stop using this useless word “science”, mankind is a bunch of kids in adult bodies continually trying shit out to see what works, everything that is not in harmony with the universe and life itself, fails.
So when they do a test of photosynthesis in a plant, they are measuring the rate of PS by iodine staining starches from the leaves, since that’s the product of PS. Putting the plant in the dark for a few days forces the plant to use its stored starches up, thus destarching the plant to begin the test with a known baseline.
I think there’s something in this de starching it’s a scientific procedure but idk about it making any improvements?
To test for starch some ethanol or acetone and some iodine is all you need.
I’m not actually aware of the practice of de starching but ethanol and iodine are used for testing starches in photosynthesis science/tests/experiments.
You can wash out chlorophyll with acetone/ethanol then dip into iodine, after a dark period the leaf stays white, if you repeat after it’s been exposed to light it turns black, iodine bonds with the starch that’s been made.
Areas receiving more light, or shaded areas show up as different shades.
Hmmmm, maybe I will take one of my Green Crack Plants and put it in 48 hrs of darkness 2 days before chop and label it and see if I can notice any difference in the finished product! I have done both light till the end and dark period fir the last couple days… but never a side by side comparison
The interesting thing to me is that I considered the 48 hour dark period to be the pinnacle of bro science. I was really surprised to see it was an actual thing.
I may do a side by side comparison as well. I doubt I will notice anything, but without experimenting I will never know.