dragfameson

A dry atmosphere seems to produce more potent plants because, when the humidity is about 50% or less, plant development is more compact, and the leaves tend to have thinner blades. Conversely, when the air is humid, plant growth is faster, and the leaves develop luxuriously, with wider blades. The advantage to the plant is that the wider blades have more surface area and can therefore transpire more water. So, plants grown with a lower relative humidity have thinner leaves and use less water. The higher potency may be due to the less leaf tissue for a given amount of cannabinoids and resin glands.

The temperature also influences the shape and size of the plant and leaves. At higher temperatures, the leaves tend to grow closer together and under cooler temperatures, the leaves are larger, have wider blades, and are spaced further apart. Warmer temperatures seems to yield slightly more potent plants for the same reason as a drier atmosphere does.

However, differences in potency caused by any of the growth factors (light, nutrients, water, temperature, humidity, etc) are small compared to differences caused by the variety (hereditary genetic structure) and full maturation. For example, the humidity in Jamaica, Colombia, Thailand, and many other countries associated with fine marijuana is relatively high and averages at about 80 percent.

So, you should try to keep the atmosphere as dry as possible. The atmosphere in heated or air-conditioned homes is already dry (usually about 15 to 40 percent).

is this correct?
-drag

aeroskunk

sounds good.. i like average 70 degree low humidity in my op.. only thing humid is the root chamber which is 100%. .. plenty of ventilation keeping the leaves nice and dry.. i give them a fine folair feeding maybe once a day to make up for the lack of humidity, they seem to like it.. however i use an ultra fine misting bottle so it doesnt form droplets on the leaves.. just a light layer of mist....

i assume buds will be a little happier in the drier atmosphere avoiding molds and such, but as you said, it's mainly genetics.
good post.



a. skunk

dragfameson

i think that it would probably make the buds more potent, i am definitely going to get a meter to measure the relative humidity and keep it dry and see what happens!
-drag

jdunk420

i've read that low humidity increases potency because the plant produces more resin to keep it from drying out.Any thoughts?
LATER

bgetting

You are right, for the most part.
I don't know that there is any correlation to leaf size and humidity, but different strains definitely respond to conditions in their own way.
However, the humidity issue is this: THC and the trichomes that contain it are made as a defense. When the plant is ready to seed, it produces these compaounds to protect the seeds, or if no pollination occureed, to protect the pistil in case fertilization may happen. When the humidity is low, the plant risks water loss, which ay damage it's precious seeds, so it begins to grow more of the trichomes that contain THC. It does this to reduce the amount of air movement near the surface of the plant, which reduces transpiration.
This is all strain dependent though, some strains may be non tolerant to dry conditions.