How to use good stress to maximize bud size
Stress is typically viewed as a bad thing for both humans and plants, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes a little stress can encourage cannabis plants to produce larger buds or higher concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes, but it’s important to know what you’re doing because too much stress could have devastating effects on a crop.
Cannabis plants respond to stress by working harder to achieve their goal which is to grow bigger, stronger, and more resilient. However, too much of any type of stress can kill a plant and for that reason, it’s essential to set limits and avoid introducing any bad stress throughout the process of leveraging good stress to your advantage.
Good stressors
Here we’re going to teach you how to use four different types of good stress to produce the best yield possible.
1. Grow room air circulation
This is the most common way growers use stress to create positive results, as the majority run some type of air circulation system that keeps the plants swaying just enough to enhance the strength of the stems and branches. Without this boost, some may end up falling over and dying due to weight or accidentally applied pressure.
2. Plant training methods
Plant training methods allow cultivators to manage plant growth by using various stressors to push cannabis to produce bigger buds and a particular shape that is more conducive to absorbing light. Low-stress training, super cropping, topping, and lollipop ping are all different ways to train your cannabis plants to look or act a certain way though beginners may be best sticking with LST as it’s the least likely to inflict damage that might be difficult to heal.
3. Cold temperatures
Most growers assume that the worst thing they could do is expose their plants to low temperatures because this is a tropical species known for thriving best in hot humid environments, but a small amount of it applied during the final two weeks of the flowering cycle could be just enough to boost a crops metabolic system, which should speed up the production of resin and it can even alter the color of cannabis plants to be more appealing.
The most important thing to remember is that lower temperatures mean less control over other important factors such as humidity, so if you do try this experiment be sure to keep a close eye on those moisture levels.
4. Drought
Drought stress is used by cultivators to speed up growth rates, as the plants prepare for a shortage of one of life's essential ingredients by increasing oxygen levels in the roots. Unfortunately, this method may also have the opposite effect if growers push their crops' limits too far, so it’s important to do this slowly and incrementally for the best results.
