Maximum Yield Cannabis USA December 2017 / January 2018 | Page 26

grow
TRELLIS NETTING
Trellis netting is an invaluable tool for the indoor grower
and my personal favorite for plant manipulation. Trellis
netting can be stretched horizontally just below the light
system’s sweet spot to assist a grower in spreading, sup-
porting, and controlling the height of the plants. Trellis
netting used in this way will maximize the available light
energy and increase the garden’s overall efficiency. Trellis
netting can also be used as a vertical support system.
PRUNING
Many growers will prune some of the larger shade
leaves to improve light penetration to the lower flower
sets. Another common pruning technique is to remove
all the lower section leaves that are positioned below
the sweet spot. This allows the plant to direct its energy
toward developing the flowers within the sweet spot.
This method is especially effective when combined with
a horizontal trellis.
TOPPING
Topping is a technique where the tops of the plant are
pruned or removed. This is generally done at a node
space (the place where horizontal branching occurs). At
each node space, there are two potential new shoots. The
idea behind topping is for every top removed, two new
shoots take its place, thereby increasing the number of
shoots, and eventually fruit or flowers, that will develop.
Growers who use the topping technique can better
control the vertical growth of the plant and position more
vegetation in the lighting system’s sweet spot.
SUPER CROPPING
Super cropping is similar to topping because the
purpose is to get the plant to grow new shoots from the
node spaces. However, with super cropping, the tops
are not cut or removed, instead, they are bent to the
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grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
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MANIPULATING THE PLANTS themselves
or the way the plants grow is a great way for
marijuana growers to increase the amount
of plant material that lies within the light
energy sweet spot.”
point of damaging them. The best way to implement
this is to squeeze the stem between the thumb and
pointer finger until the stem folds like a drinking straw.
The advantage of super cropping is that the tops are
retained while still promoting new shoots from the
node spaces. As with topping, plants that are super
cropped will become extremely bushy and will have
more vegetation that can be placed in the sweet spot of
the lighting system.
Regardless of which plant manipulation technique a
grower decides to implement, the end goal is the same:
to best utilize the given light energy and maximize the
garden’s yield. Every indoor garden has a limited amount
of available light energy and to make an indoor marijuana
garden as effective and efficient as possible, a grower
must make the most of the garden’s given light energy.
Although ventilation and nutrition also play key roles in
an indoor garden’s performance, the light energy is most
vital to the success or failure of the garden. Marijuana
growers who implement plant manipulation techniques to
best utilize the given light energy will yield a higher ratio
of weight to watts consumed at harvest time. Put another
way, implementing plant manipulation techniques in-
creases efficiency in the garden that always equates to a
higher return on investment for the grower.
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