What Does Light Deprivation Cultivation (Light Dep) Mean?
Light deprivation cultivation is a popular cannabis cultivation method that takes advantage of a plant's photoperiodism capabilities. The technique can be used to force cannabis and other plants to flower much sooner than they naturally would.
Cultivation through light deprivation is accomplished by simulating a 12-hour light and a 12-hour dark photoperiod, often using a greenhouse and dark shade clothe strategically placed at the right times. This changes the length of days and nights in late summer months and will trigger cannabis plants to flower much faster than they would on their own.
Using light deprivation cultivation methods, a grower is essentially depriving the plant of daylight for as long as he or she needs, based on the strain being grown.
Maximum Yield Explains Light Deprivation Cultivation (Light Dep)
Many flowering plants, especially marijuana, rely on a particular photoperiod to regulate their flowering. This is known as photoperiodism. When a plant is exposed to a certain amount of darkness, the flowering cycle gets triggered.
Different cannabis strains rely on different amounts of darkness, which is where light deprivation can be most useful. By controlling the amount of light and darkness that a strain receives, cannabis growers can force the plants in their greenhouses and growrooms to flower much earlier than they normally would.
The term light deprivation cultivation likely originated in the cannabis industry by a greenhouse manufacturer called Forever Flowering.
Light deprivation methods can be used either indoors in growrooms, or outdoors in greenhouses. Outdoor systems make use of natural sunlight, while putting plants in artificial darkness via tarps and canopies. In other words, a simple light deprivation system is created in a greenhouse by covering the exterior of the unit in blackout tarps.
This differs to growing completely indoors where there isn't any outside light coming in. In this case, light deprivation is carried out simply by altering (automating!) your grow light schedule to provide the cannabis with the correct amount of darkness and light they need.
Additionally, it should be noted that if a plant’s darkness cycle is interrupted by bursts of bright light, the flowering cycle may be disrupted or even reversed.
