Better roots under Blurple lights?

  • Thread starter Chad.Westport
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Chad.Westport

Chad.Westport

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I've run the gambit in veg, everything from CFL bulbs all the way to the new "white light" quantum boards. But there is something I have noticed and I'm not sure if it is just me, but it tends to be holding true after a couple of runs.

White light quantum boards are touted as full spectrum, and the ideal wavelengths for ideal Cannabis growth. The portion of the plant above ground has always looked good using them, I saw an immediate improvement when I replaced my blurples with this new LED. As time went by, it seemed like I wasn't getting quite the same yield or at least nothing that was a night and day difference in yield compared to my HPS... in fact, I think yield may be going backwards... So I added equal wattage of LED to the wattage of the HPS it replaced. That bumped up yields, but there was one thing I always check that still wasn't up to par, and that was the root mass.

We all know - the bigger the root, the bigger the fruit. So why was I having such puny root growth under these new LED white light quantum boards? They are in the same soil as before, in the same environments, getting the same food and water schedule. I've even tossed in some mycorrhizae but for some reason at the end, when I pull the plant from the pot, the roots are lacking, which relates to yield.

So this run I've added the blurple light back into veg to compliment the White Light LED. It has been a while since I have seen the roots hit the bottom holes in the pot like they are now. There is plenty of paperwork out there on the effects of Red and Blue spectrum light on plant and root growth. We know that monochromatic light is not a good option, we also know just red and blue light is incomplete even though it is the favorite wavelengths for the plants.

But is this full spectrum white light just as incomplete for the overall plant growth including the roots?

Has anyone made the switch to the white light quantum boards, and noticed any sort of difference when inspecting their roots after harvest?
 
Ponky

Ponky

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So far I prefer T5 HO for early veg. Seems to be just right.
 

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