I’m starting this topic to get some discussion on strains/flowering techniques that end their flower cycle with higher levels of CBG. There are very few strains/growers that finish their grows with higher CBG levels. The Growers Circle is the highest consistent CBG levels I have seen. As my exposure to different growers and flowers expand, only the most experience tend to have higher test results for CBG. My assumption is the knowledge and experience that come with growing a specific strain to maintain proper care throughout 100% of its life will naturally increase the cannabinoids. While I know CBG is the foundation of other cannabinoids, thus higher CBG early means higher THC and CBD, I would like to see some strains with higher ending CBG levels. The benefits that come along with CBG have great potential for appetite stimulant.
If anyone has experience being exposed to high CBG strains please share the knowledge!
Much love to you all!
Just from the 20k level of working with secondary plant compounds. Look back to nature and see what the big natural CBG makers do. We know that the little Cannabis afgani is a big producer. (Source need here, lookup Israeli papers on canibinods. Cerca 1970) My guess is the cool nights and bright days during flowering is key. I think growers are finishing to warm, it turn the crop faster. It is a trade off. A couple additional days may make a big difference.
I am going to reach out on a limb here and speculate high sugar producers durning the vegetative stage, plus an environmental stressor to activate the secondary plant compound paths. Measure your leaf sugars with a good old viticulture tool. Start collect data from the grow to metric back to the finished product. Define the stressor. I think @Growernick likes UV light as a stressor to his plants and why he demonstrates high secondary plant compounds. Plus he is just a good solid grower. But, is UV A, the best choice of stressors. I don’t know. I think it should play a role, but it is like playing with fire. Skin cancer is going to be an issue in grow ops. Maybe pick when we boost UV light during the daily cycle as just part of IPM plan.
Maybe UV added when vapor pressure are ideal? Maybe another environmental stressor will be just as good. @Farmer_Dan seems to do an outstanding job of a wide verity of high output grows. What is the stressor he is adding? From reading his posts I think his outstanding nutrition regimen, adds a stressor during production cycle. I think in dan’s situation, it is the ammonium to nitrate conversation. That happens in his environment situation. I think it would be difficult to repeat in other locals. Dan, picked his farm with the ecosystem in mind. Dan is going to be a big player.
My question is how much of a good thing is too much?
What quantities are we looking at, and for what market? If you are going for an extract market bulk, or small batch extract, or a raw flower market? A nice purple flower does not necessarily make great extract but it does look nice on display shelf. Some of the big anthocinum makers are very sweet tasting., some to sweat for my pallet. They tend to be branded with candy like names. The high Turpin producers have that hopps taste. To me it very bitter and not as smooth as I like. I don’t personally like them as much on the consumer side. I want a smooth smoke. When cooking with an extract I want different things. The sweet verities are nice when used like a pomegranate sugar or defused in olive oil or butter. Some of the bitter varieties I think would be a outstanding an outstanding bitters substitute. Think of a sasarch with cannabis bitters. Yum. Think of a brandy alixander with cannabis bitters.
Interesting. I never consider the ammonium to nitrate conversion as a stressor, but it makes sense.
I also flooded my field at transition, and used harpin protein through flower as stressors. I lost a few plants from flooding (maybe 0.5%), but I think it got them geared toward flowering sooner. I’ve began harvest 10 days ahead of previous years with a per plant average dry yield gain. I plan to not flood next year and see if it really was the excessive water. I will continue to use harpin protein, I believe it makes a difference. I am not sure if it did anything to the cannabinoid and terpene profiles. I haven’t heard from the lab on my quality check, but it should be any day now…
I humbly appreciate the compliment, @ethan. I have a few thoughts on how to achieve higher CBG levels in your crops. The easiest way that I can see might seem a bit counterintuitive but I suspect it may work: harvest your crop a week earlier. While other cannabinoids will not have matured to completion, your CBG levels will be significantly higher than if you were to harvest on time or, say, a week later when CBG and THC will have degraded somewhat but other cannabinoids like CBN will be higher.
The second way would be exactly as @ethan suggests: manipulation of the light. We would need to do more research (if it yet exists) on what light might increase CBG levels in finished flowers. I know blue light has an interesting effect on Alpha Pinene and Limonene from some basic personal research that I have been conducting. It also seems to effect --minimally but notably – CBG levels as well. At this point I am reticent to say give absolute advice based on basic research but stay tuned! This is a very interesting conversation worthy of study. Thanks, @puzsurfing!
Why do you rush your field production? Are you second cropping the field?
Ammonium to nitrate conversation is so temperature and soil specific to a location. Cannabis cannot directly use ammonia it needs a nitrate.
In our fields we picked the nitrogen vary carefully because it was often the limiting factor for all our short day plants.
Our best cannabis from the 1980’s was when we has good apple weather, in central Missouri. We harvested when the the old cider apples at the horticultural farm was at prime.
Each location is different.
The hemp maps from WW2 production found great corn fields the gave some of the highest production numbers in hemp, in tons per acre. Let me find the maps from WW2 hemp production. It was published by the Ag extension at Kentucky.
It will take me some time to find the digital images. You have to go through the library of Congress link to the USDA Ag Library at beltsville. They digitized most of the Ag extension publications from pre WW2 through today.
I am still trying to collect the original extension publication for cannabis. Joanne @ Elizabeth Woodburn Books in New Jersey is helping with the search. She found all my extension publications for sweet pea production. And they are my primary source for all old books horticulture. They had a first edition of Biglows compendium, with hand colored illustrations for $9500. I think it was the first USA printing 1870’s. To rich for my blood. But it’s discription of cannabis is beautifully written.
I rushed it this year as a trial and because the fall rain in my location is unpredictable. 2016 was a devastating year for rain (210 days of rain starting Sept 28th), last year was average, this year had no rain all of October, which is the other extreme (the good kind for cannabis). I also grew 3300 plants and couldn’t harvest them all at once, so I needed some early so I could dry, process, and refill 1 greenhouse. Just trying to hedge my bets. I was also able to get product to market a month ahead of schedule, which is good from a pricing standpoint. Hopefully, this Janurary we don’t see so many farm liquidating and the price doesn’t fall again. Next year the plan is 2500 stouter plants, which I can have rest all at once (with enhanced cure barn equipment), so I plan to not flood at flower transition. Everything I do, I do to learn something new.
The flooding was an accident at first. I had an irrigation line seperate and flood 1 row about 1/2 down, before catching it. Those plants started flowering harder within one week when compared to the same cultivar in an unaffected row. So I said to myself, “what the hey, let’s flood them all”.
I think with a little piece of new lab equipment we could prove you hypothesis and calculate the best day to pick. I am think along the lines of grape growers testing sugar every morning and afternoon. Why should we not have an assay of precursors. Harvest when they hit there highest levels? I bet there is a statistical method calculate maximum potential CBC and THC that a cell can hold before causing death of the cell. A little bit of organic chemistry. Hummm. We have a new biochemist on the forum. It is a solubility problem, I think. Kinda like the old rabbit test.
