CANNABIS
TRAINING AND PRUNING
TECHNIQUES
Savvy cannabis growers know that training and pruning their prized plants is imperative for maximum yields . Grubbycup goes through the various techniques that will surely help take your grow to the next level .
Cannabis naturally grows in a fat Christmas-tree shape , with a large central cola ( apical meristem ) on top , and smaller buds at the growth tips on the ends of the branches . While this shape is well suited for growing outdoors , indoors it can be helpful to have a more even canopy for lighting purposes . Buds create hormones called auxins which retard the growth of budding sites lower down on the plant . Auxin concentration also influences growth on the far side of a semi-shaded stem which causes cells to enlarge ; this pushes leaves to face a light source ( phototropism ). The top cola is the largest because it isn ’ t influenced by the hormone ’ s trickle-down effect , since there aren ’ t any buds higher than itself ( known as apical dominance ), and it inhibits the size of the buds developing below it . A similar effect can be noticed on individual branches where the terminal ( end ) buds grow larger than those closer to the stem . This is why , in nature , the top bud is the biggest , and the next largest buds occur at the ends of the branches . Growers can influence the flow of auxins from the growth tips to the rest of the plant through pruning or training to promote a more even canopy , bushier growth , and more uniform bud size . Methods introducing stress to the plant should be done while the plant is in growth to allow for easier recuperation and recovery .
Pinching ( Topping )
One way to keep the top growth tip ( where the top cola will form in flower ) from producing auxins is to simply remove it . This is commonly known as “ pinching ” because the tips are pinched off using a thumb and forefinger , allowing the next node in line to develop . Pinching is generally most effective with seed-started plants or with clones young enough to have pairs of budding nodes on either side of the stem . Pinching should be done in growth , as the plant will have to recover from the damage and adjust . by Grubbycup
Cut just above the next two nodes and remove the top growth tip . The cut should be made just over the next two nodes in line as any higher stem section remaining will die off down to that point . Since the top cola has been removed , and is no longer producing auxins to inhibit their growth , the two ( now top ) nodes are free to develop into growth tips which will develop into two smaller colas instead of one large one . Once the plant has recovered and each of the two nodes are developing into branches , the process can be repeated on both branches to form a total of four colas . Each time the method is repeated it will form double the number of even-shrinking bud sizes ( two , four , eight , 16 , etc .) Pinching can also be done with branches to help the plant have a bushier shape . To put it another way ; the removal of the apical growth tip from a stem allows the next two budding sites to develop better . The two new tops or ends will no longer be influenced by the missing growth tip and will split the advantage between them . Each will develop into a branch ( and later in flowering a bud ). Once each branch has developed a pair of nodes in addition to the growth tip , the growth tip can be removed to trigger each of those two nodes to develop into growth tips . This can be repeated to change a normally taller and somewhat lanky plant into a much bushier and compact plant . Instead of a substantially larger flower cluster at the top of the plant , a pinched plant will produce several smaller flower clusters ( buds ). Generally , pinching is something best done in moderation , as overuse can reduce the size of each bud down to popcorn size which is generally not appreciated by anyone having to trim it .
FIM ( F %!@ I missed )
A variation on pinching that involves removing just enough of the top growth tip to retard growth without removing the entire tip . This allows for the next growth tips in line to “ catch up ” to it while it recovers . This forms three growing tips instead of the two made via pinching . Legend has it the technique was developed by someone attempting pinching and not taking off the entire node ( hence the F %!@ I missed ).
44 Maximum Yield