Many people are wondering: what kind of cannabis grow lights should I use to light indoor sprouts? Of course, the best lighting for young and mature plants is the sun, which provides ideal conditions during all phases of growth. Therefore, it is so important to create an environment for plants that is as close to natural as possible.
Influence of different spectra on plant growth phases
As we know from physics lessons, light itself is not a homogeneous substance. In fact, this is a wave in various ranges and frequencies, forming a spectrum of light sometimes invisible to the human eye.
Cannabis plants growing in their natural environment perceive from the entire spectrum of colors particularly long ultraviolet rays, which trigger the synthesis of chlorophyll. This allows the seedling to be most effectively fed with vitamins and nutrients for future growth. Such a spectrum is recommended to be used at the initial stages from the moment when the seed hatched until it became small.bush.
Another spectral range beneficial for plant growth is low-intensity red light. It has been established that such radiation affects the rate of development, plant height and yield, thereby stimulating photosynthesis inside the plant. What bulbs do you need to grow cannabis? You should choose options with the characteristics listed above.
Using this knowledge, you can choose the most suitable lamps for growing cannabis indoors. However, it must be remembered that hemp is a capricious plant. Therefore, variety preferences regarding the amount of red and blue spectrum at different growth phases should be taken into account.
Lamps play two roles in marijuana cultivation. First of all, they give light in the right ranges and frequencies, which we wrote about above. And secondly, the lamps emit a large amount of heat. This is important because the plant itself grows in hot countries and needs a lot of sun and heat, as well as moisture.
Now let's take a closer look at which lamps are used to grow cannabis.
DNaT
Cylindrical arc sodium tubular lamp. Produces light by heating the sodium gas inside the bulb, which results in a glow in the yellow-red spectral range. Such a lamp for growing hemp has proven itself perfectly, as it provides the plant with the necessary heat and light in all phases of growth. At the same time, it is very hot during operation, which can burn the leaves of the plant. The device requires special equipment.
ESL
Energy-saving lamp for hemp will only work in two color ranges: 2700K (warm white, red spectrum predominance) and 6400K (cool white, blue spectrum predominance). To achieve maximum results, it is recommended to install both spectra for lighting bushes. The advantage is a high level of energy saving.
LED-phytolamp
Specially designed for growing various plants, lamps are able to provide the most comfortable conditions for future bushes, emitting only the necessary color spectrum for the full development of the plant. At the same time, they save energy, serve for a long time, are safe to use and do not heat up. Such a lamp looks like a lot of light bulbs inside a large cartridge. There are several types:
- Bicolor lamps are equipped with blue and red light bulbs only. Such lighting is ideal for the vegetative phase, as it gives the seeds and already hatched shoots all the necessary light spectrum for development.
- Multicolor lamps, in addition to the red and yellow spectrum, are also equipped with far red light bulbs, which are a secondary color. They are good to use in all plant life cycles: from seed to flowering.
- Full spectrum lamps contain the entire range of visible color, while the main ones are the same red and blue. This lamp is the most optimal for all phases of plant growth.
Which lamps are not suitable for growing cannabis
Absolutely not suitable for growing conventional lamps that we use to illuminate the premises. They do not emit the necessary spectrums of light, without which hemp will not be able to fully develop. In addition, they produce too much heat, which can damage and burn the leaves, thereby destroying the plant.
Halogen lamps are also not suitable for this activity, all for the same reasons. There is no required spectrum, and strong heating will not produce the desired result in any growth phase.
Household LED and energy-saving lamps are not suitable solely for the spectral composition of the light.
We hope that this article has helped you to find out what kind of lamps experienced growers use to grow cannabis. This article is for informational purposes only and in no way encourages growing cannabis in the Russian Federation, as it is prohibited by law.
