After a sugar application, the resulting sugar-like crystals are the flower's trichomes, which are believed to double in production after the plant is treated with sugar.
Flush your plants with ice water to boost trichome production. Cold shock adds icing to the cake of training protocol. We advise using ice-cold water when flushing your buds during the late flowering phase.
Plant trichome development is influenced by genetic factors and environmental factors such as hormones, water and light (reviewed by Khan et al., 2021).
The herbs mint, basil, lavender, oregano, rosemary and thyme have been cultivated for centuries because of their trichomes, which produce and store essential oils.
Mishandling live cannabis plants will damage trichomes and result in lower-quality products. Careful trimming, drying, and curing keep trichomes intact and play a critical role in quality assurance in the cannabis industry.
Why is Some Cannabis Sticky? Some cannabis is stickier than others because of its trichome and resin content. As mentioned before, each cannabis cultivar has its own unique makeup, with differing levels of cannabinoids. Generally speaking, the more cannabinoids are present, the more resinous (sticky) it will be.
As previously stated, moderate levels of nitrogen and phosphorus work best to sustain trichome growth to the maximum level. Dumping nutrients on your plant during the second half of the flowering cycle can result in reduced cannabinoid and terpene content, thereby lowering your bud quality in both flavor and potency.
UV-B light is particularly effective at increasing trichome density in a number of species. Trichomes can block harmful UV-B rays from reaching the sensitive photosynthetic tissues of the leaves.
Low Temps, Low Light, Low Humidity
Another method some growers use to increase trichomes and possibly speed up maturation is to lower the humidity below 40% RH, which may also help imitate cold, dry winter weather.
In order to get more potency in the flowering stage, you want to inspire your plant to produce more resin-producing trichomes. You do this by cranking up blue, white, and UVB lights to 100% and backing red down to around 50%.
Increasing the amount of CO₂ in your grow room can help you grow bigger, denser buds. By doing so, you'll help plants photosynthesise faster and encourage them to take up more nutrients and water.
You have probably heard these referred to as crystals or “Trikes”. Some cannabis strains will have pronounced trichome development four or five weeks before maturity, others will develop as late as two weeks before they reach full maturity.
How fast do trichomes change color? This variable largely depends on the strain. Some transitions occur within 5 days of flowering, while others take up to 2 weeks.
Examining Trichomes
If trichomes are clear they still need time to mature, as they'll contain very low levels of THC. A general guideline is to harvest cannabis only if more than half of your trichomes have turned a cloudy, milky color.
Trichomes remain milky for about two weeks during the lifecycle of a cannabis plant. Growers may choose to harvest the buds at this time if they plan to pair the strain with CBD oil.
Paclobutrazol impacts a plant cell's ability to elongate, which in cannabis means cells pack much tighter and denser on the flower.
If you use a UV-B light in your environment, you can get your plant to produce more trichomes and therefore more terpenes. Adding 10-20W of UV-B light per square metre for the last 2-3 weeks will increase the terpenes in your buds.
Use supplemental UV lights. UV light, when used at the right intensity, can be a great way to increase your plants terpene and oil production. Having low levels of UV light introduced to your plant gives it the response of producing more resin and oils so it can shield itself from the slightly harmful UV rays.
The length of trichomes increased with increasing CO2 concentration and longer trichomes were recorded at 600 ppm CO2 (P ≤ 0.05; Tables 1–5).
Yes, sugar leaves grow alongside the buds.
The reason that cannabis plants produce trichomes and cannabinoids is not to get us high, but to protect themselves against a range of dangers, such as predators and UV exposure. Having trichome-covered leaves surrounding the flowers simply offers another layer of protection.
Many sugar or carbohydrate-based supplements claim to improve the smell/taste/sweetness of buds. A cheap alternative to expensive sugar-based bloom boosting supplements is blackstrap molasses. Giving this to your plants for the last few weeks before harvest can help them get bigger and smell/taste better.
The development of leaf trichomes is influenced by water availability.
Higher THC
The reason why weed is sticky is the overabundance of trichomes, which also makes the product more potent. Trichomes are tiny hair-like appendages that collect THC on their tips. Trichomes are present on all marijuana plants, but sticky plants have the most and therefore generate the most THC on their tips.
Low quality genetics or poor environmental conditions are the two main causes. There are plenty of poorly bred cannabis seeds with substandard genetics. If you grow these, it doesn't matter how good a grower you are, trichomes simply wont be produced in the desired quantities.
At the absolute minimum, you should wait until 50% of the trichomes are cloudy and 50% of the hairs have changed color. Again — do not harvest if fewer than 50% of the trichomes have turned milky. And do not harvest if fewer than 50% of the pistils have turned brown/orange.