The impact of different air exchange rates on cannabis growth can be a significant factor for cultivators. Understanding the potential impact of these air exchange rates on your grow will help you choose the best ventilation system for your growing needs.
The cannabis plant undergoes changes as it senses a short day (approximately 12 hours of light). When this happens indoors the plant enters bloom phase and will continue to produce flowers over a period of time.
Variations in Air Exchange Rates
Air quality is a major concern for cannabis companies, as grow and production facilities can be sources of indoor air contaminants. The best way to keep your facility a healthy place to work is to be proactive in ensuring compliance with a variety of state, local and federal regulations. As the industry grows and new standards are introduced, it’s essential to stay on top of the latest trends and technologies to avoid regulatory repercussions.
The effects of variations in temperature, relative humidity and ventilation have a significant impact on a growing plant’s health and productivity. These changes may not be visible to the naked eye, but they will have a direct effect on your bottom line. A well-designed grow room layout and an efficient ventilation system can help to reduce energy consumption and costs.
For example, a well-designed ventilation system can ensure that each individual area of the growing facility is kept at a consistent humidity level to prevent overwatering and overheating. This can save a lot of money in the long run and can be a key to building a successful business.
Likewise, a well-designed ventilation system can reduce the amount of energy required to cool and warm the air. This will not only save on energy costs but also allow the grow room to function more efficiently, allowing you to reap the rewards of higher yields and improved cannabis quality.
The best way to achieve this is to consult with an HVAC consultant with a keen understanding of the cannabis industry and its unique challenges. This person will be able to recommend and implement the most efficient solutions that will have a positive impact on your bottom line while meeting your environmental goals.
The Effect of Temperature
As with most horticultural crops, cannabis plants thrive best when the temperature in their root zones is kept at the ideal range of 70-78° F (18-25° C). Temperature plays an important role in a number of different growth processes.
The most obvious effect of temperature is that it affects the rate at which a plant absorbs nutrients and water from its environment. This is because the roots are the main route for these essentials to reach the plant’s tissues.
When temperatures in the root zone are not regulated properly, nutrient absorption problems can occur that will result in lower crop yields. In addition, temperature can impact a plant’s respiration rate. This is because the rate of a plant’s respiration is one of the most energy-intensive processes in its life cycle.
In a grow room, temperatures can be controlled in order to maximise production of high-quality buds and flowers. However, this can be a costly exercise as grow rooms typically use a large amount of electricity for their heating systems and lighting equipment.
This can add to a cultivation facility’s carbon footprint, which is the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced during a production process (Wiedmann and Minx 2008). In Colorado, where marijuana is legal, emissions from cannabis cultivation facilities have been estimated to be around 36 to 362 t year-1 (Wang et al., 2019).
The amount of GHGs released during a production cycle can be significantly affected by the levels of BVOCs emitted from cannabis cultivation. These compounds can have an impact on air quality by emitting particulates into the air and contributing to ozone formation.
BVOCs are a class of organic compounds that are released into the atmosphere when they are emitted by a growing crop. These compounds are associated with cannabis plants’ pungent smell and are believed to be responsible for their potential impacts on air quality (Wang et al., 2019, p.1).
As a result, many growers prefer to have their crops grown indoors in greenhouses and other climate-controlled environments. These facilities can be used to control all of the environmental factors that impact a plant’s growth.
The Effect of Humidity
In indoor horticulture, humidity control is one of the most critical factors that growers must understand. Getting it right can dramatically affect a grower’s production levels and yield.
Cannabis plants, just like every other living organism, are adapted to specific environmental conditions. They need the right amount of moisture and the right balance of temperature to grow healthy, strong and high-quality products.
Humidity control is critical because it regulates transpiration, VPD and nutrient uptake. It also has a direct impact on plant health and secondary metabolite production.
When the air is too dry, your cannabis seedlings will close their stomata (the pores in their leaves) to prevent water loss. This leads to photosynthesis that is slow, stress and compromised yield.
Alternatively, when the environment is too wet, your cannabis seedlings will drink excessively and if they take up too much water it can lead to nutrient burn. This is a yellow, brown-looking burn on the leaves that can be quite damaging to plant health and yields.
The more you overwater your plants, the more you increase their risk of mold and fungus, especially during the flowering stage. These molds will quickly invade the interior of your crop, causing bud rot and ultimately reducing your yield.
There are a number of tools that you can use to control the humidity in your grow room, including hygrometers and psychrometers. A psychrometer can measure humidity at a much higher level than a hygrometer and is the best tool for serious growers who want to have accurate control over their environment.
If you have the right equipment and know how to use it, you can achieve accurate, consistent humidity levels that will help your plants grow at their optimal rate. By controlling your humidity, you can improve the overall health and quality of your harvest while increasing your profits.
It is also important to know the difference between relative humidity and actual humidity when it comes to your marijuana growing room. Relative humidity is what you measure in a room when you are in it, while actual humidity is the moisture that is in the air around your marijuana grow room.
The Effect of Light
Cannabis is a plant that grows and changes its growth patterns to maximize the amount of light it gets. The light is what allows the plant to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow, and blue light is one of the most important.
Blue light is best used during the vegetative stage, when you want to encourage plants to produce more leaves and grow taller. It also helps stimulate stem cells to make longer roots and stems.
The synthesis of chlorophyll, which helps your plant absorb light, is significantly influenced by blue light. However, too much blue light can inhibit your plant’s growth and development.
Another important effect of blue light is that it sets the clock for your plant’s circadian rhythms. This is the way your plant knows when it’s day or night and when it can rest.
Depending on the time of year, cannabis can experience different natural day lengths. Using supplemental lighting to increase the day length from 12 hours to 14 can trigger flowering for your plants, as the light mimics their natural day and night cycles.
In addition, blue light can help your cannabis plants regulate their growth rates by helping them know whether it’s time to put all their leaves down for the night or not. This is a way for the plant to save energy while it’s sleeping, so it can continue to grow at full speed during the day.
This can be done by putting the light on before dark and off after the sun comes up. This helps your plants get the right amount of light at every point in their lives, which can result in better yields and faster times to harvest.
There are a number of other ways that light affects your cannabis plant’s growth. For instance, red and blue light can both affect how well your plants absorb the sunlight that they need for their photosynthesis. Green light, on the other hand, isn’t as absorbed by your plants, but it still plays an important role in influencing their growth.
