Spectrum Colors & Cannabis What are Effects of Each Light Color — Which’s The Best For Plants
You’ve decided to grow cannabis either for your own use or as a business, and you’ve heard that lighting is important when it comes to cannabis cultivation. But what light is best for growing cannabis? You’ve learned that light can be broken out into a spectrum which includes UV, visible, and infrared light, but you’re wondering how these wavelengths affect cannabis growth. This article will give you the information you need to make the right decisions when it comes to what light is best when growing cannabis.
You’ve decided to grow cannabis either for your own use or as a business, and you’ve heard that lighting is important when it comes to cannabis cultivation. But what light is best for growing cannabis? You’ve learned that light can be broken out into a spectrum which includes UV, visible, and infrared light, but you’re wondering how these wavelengths affect cannabis growth. This article will give you the information you need to make the right decisions when it comes to what light is best when growing cannabis.
The Science of Light and Plant Growth
Plants require light to thrive. Without light, most plants would wither and die because they need sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into food. Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, plants take in water, carbon dioxide, and light to produce carbohydrates that the plant uses as food to grow. In return, the plant produces oxygen as a “waste,” which is necessary for animal life on Earth.
Plants such as cannabis have evolved to photosynthesize their food using sunlight. The sun produces a spectrum of light colors that you can readily see when you look at light through a prism or when you look at a rainbow. But the sun also produces light outside our visual range: ultraviolet or UV light, and infrared light. Visual, UV, and infrared light are important to plant growth. Let’s explore how the light affects cannabis plants.
Understanding Spectrum Colors
Now that you know light breaks into a color spectrum, let’s talk about the light wavelengths in more depth. To understand what color light is best for plant growth, it’s important to understand spectrum color. Visible light is just a fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum. On one side of the spectrum are high frequency waves such as gamma rays, x-rays, and UV. On the other side of the spectrum are low frequency waves such as radio waves, microwaves, and infrared waves. Visible light appears between the high and low frequency waves.
Plants use light from the visible spectrum, but also from the infrared and UV spectrums. When talking about light, we’ll look at the wavelengths, which are very important. For reference, here are the wavelengths of visible light in nanometers (nm):
- 740 to 625 nm red
- 625 to 590 nm orange
- 590 to 565 nm yellow
- 565 to 520 nm green
- 520 to 500 nm cyan
- 500 to 435 nm blue
- 435 to 380 nm violet
Light above 740 nm for this article is infrared (IR); light below 380 nm for this article is UV. I won’t be covering light beyond IR or UV. You can sense IR because it is warm, even if you can’t see it. Likewise, even though you can’t see UV rays, you can certainly feel them when you get a sunburn.
When it comes to light, you can’t go wrong with a full spectrum light that mimics the sun. After all, that’s what you’re trying to do indoors. Cannabis plants will thrive under a full spectrum light; however, you can improve quality and yields, tweaking the light spectrum colors at certain times of the plants’ growth.
The Impact of Spectrum Colors on Cannabis
Cannabis growth, like other plants, is greatly affected by the light it receives. During germination, the seed seeks out IR and red light because it looks for the warmth IR and red light provides in the ground during its rooting phase. Once the seedling comes in contact with the air, it “senses” the UV and blue light that tells it to stop the rooting phase and begin its vegetative phase.
Blue light is most beneficial at the vegetative phase, causing the plant to grow tall and sprout more leaves. Once the plant goes into its flowering stage, red light greatly improves flowering and quality of the flower. We’ll look at each of them a little bit closer.
Blue Light: Fueling Vegetative Growth
Cannabis plants need blue light to grow stems and leaves after the germination phase. They do best when they have blue light mixed with some green light. Blue light will cause the plant to grow outward and limit its height, so you will have a more bush-like plant that doesn’t need a lot of height to grow. (More on green light, later).
Red Light: The Flowering Champion
As I’ve mentioned before, IR and red light are important for germination. But those wavelengths are also important for flowering. As the days get shorter in the natural world, sunlight tends towards the red spectrum. This signals the plants that they should be flowering.
Red light isn’t just important for germination and flowering, however. Plants get a signal from the environment that nighttime has arrived with a little bit of red light at sundown, similar to sunset. While plants don’t need this nighttime cue, it does help signal them that night is about to arrive and therefore rest, but simply turning off the lights will delay their rest period by an hour or more.
**VII. Green Light: Fact or Myth?**
– Investigate the role of green light in cannabis growth.
– Explore whether green light is truly “neutral” or has specific effects.
**VIII. Beyond the Rainbow: UV and Infrared Light**
– Introduce ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light and their potential impact on cannabis.
– Discuss any emerging research on the effects of UV and IR on cannabis plants.
**IX. Finding the Perfect Spectrum Balance**
– Offer guidance on selecting the right light spectrum for various growth stages (vegetative, flowering, etc.).
– Discuss the use of full-spectrum LED grow lights.
**X. Case Studies and Practical Tips**
– Share real-world examples of cannabis growers optimizing light spectrum.
– Provide practical tips for adjusting light spectrum in indoor and greenhouse cultivation.
**XI. Conclusion**
– Summarize the key takeaways from the article.
– Emphasize the importance of understanding light spectrum for successful cannabis cultivation.
– Encourage readers to experiment with spectrum colors and share their findings.
You’ve decided to grow cannabis either for your own use or as a business, and you’ve heard that lighting is important when it comes to cannabis cultivation. But what light is best for growing cannabis? You’ve learned that light can be broken out into a spectrum which includes UV, visible, and infrared light, but you’re wondering how these wavelengths affect cannabis growth. This article will give you the information you need to make the right decisions when it comes to what light is best when growing cannabis.
The Science of Light and Plant Growth
Plants require light to thrive. Without light, most plants would wither and die because they need sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into food. Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, plants take in water, carbon dioxide, and light to produce carbohydrates that the plant uses as food to grow. In return, the plant produces oxygen as a “waste,” which is necessary for animal life on Earth.
Plants such as cannabis have evolved to photosynthesize their food using sunlight. The sun produces a spectrum of light colors that you can readily see when you look at light through a prism or when you look at a rainbow. But the sun also produces light outside our visual range: ultraviolet or UV light, and infrared light. Visual, UV, and infrared light are important to plant growth. Let’s explore how the light affects cannabis plants.
Understanding Spectrum Colors
Now that you know light breaks into a color spectrum, let’s talk about the light wavelengths in more depth. To understand what color light is best for plant growth, it’s important to understand spectrum color. Visible light is just a fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum. On one side of the spectrum are high frequency waves such as gamma rays, x-rays, and UV. On the other side of the spectrum are low frequency waves such as radio waves, microwaves, and infrared waves. Visible light appears between the high and low frequency waves.
Plants use light from the visible spectrum, but also from the infrared and UV spectrums. When talking about light, we’ll look at the wavelengths, which are very important. For reference, here are the wavelengths of visible light in nanometers (nm):
- 740 to 625 nm red
- 625 to 590 nm orange
- 590 to 565 nm yellow
- 565 to 520 nm green
- 520 to 500 nm cyan
- 500 to 435 nm blue
- 435 to 380 nm violet
Light above 740 nm for this article is infrared (IR); light below 380 nm for this article is UV. I won’t be covering light beyond IR or UV. You can sense IR because it is warm, even if you can’t see it. Likewise, even though you can’t see UV rays, you can certainly feel them when you get a sunburn.
When it comes to light, you can’t go wrong with a full spectrum light that mimics the sun. After all, that’s what you’re trying to do indoors. Cannabis plants will thrive under a full spectrum light; however, you can improve quality and yields, tweaking the light spectrum colors at certain times of the plants’ growth.
