Increase THC levels and the potency of your cannabis

Reading Time 5 minutes

 

Image of a man smoking cannabis with a potent brain effect
Image of a man smoking cannabis with a potent brain effect
Fran Quesada Moya

25-10-2019 09:00:52 - Updated: 25 October, 2019

 

If you want to know how to increase THC and other cannabinoids in your marijuana plants this article is for you. In the following article we will see how to maximize the potency of any cannabis variety, in the simplest and safest way.

 

 

🎯 Factors influencing cannabis potency

 

 

 

Cannabinoids levels in marijuana may vary depending on these factors:

  • Genetics
  • Environment
  • Cultivation
  • Conservation

 

image of a photografic montage that represents a marijuana leaf doing weights in the gym*
image of a photografic montage that represents a marijuana leaf doing weights in the gym*

 

1- Why is genetics important in the potency of marijuana?

 

Genetics is the most important thing, it is what will mark the full potential of a variety. This means that with a loose strain, such as the Duckfoot, you will never get an extreme potency, no matter how well you cultivate it and even if it has the perfect environmental conditions.

If its maximum THC potential is 7%, you cultivate it perfectly, it has the maximum of light, total darkness during the night period, perfect temperature and humidity… In other words, with all the ideal parameters, that variety will get a maximum of 7% THC.

On the other hand, with a potent genetics it is easy to get your joints to be potent, as long as you have a clear minimum care. For example, a White Gelatto, even if it suffers some heat, a little hydric stress, or some lack, it will give you a potent weed.

Whenever we think about getting the most potent marijuana comes to our mind to increase THC levels. This is a good thing because, as we have seen, THC is a determining factor, but it is not the only important thing. Within the cannabis terpenes it has been discovered that there is a very special one, since it acts on the CB2 receptor like another cannabinoid. Beta-Caryophyllene also has medicinal properties of its own, and when it works in synergy with high levels of THC and other cannabinoids it turns weed into a hard drug.

So we can say that the most determining factor when it comes to achieving the greatest potency of marijuana is genetics.

 

2- How much does the environment influence the level of cannabis potency?

 

The environmental conditions where a marijuana plant is cultivated can influence the amount of cannabinoids and terpenes that it obtains. Within these environmental factors the most important are the light and the temperature.

The trichomes that develop our favorite plants serve as a defense system against U-VB rays. It has been shown that the higher the levels of light intensity of different spectra, the greater the amount of resin. The best is sunlight, and indoors a combination of different luminaires

Temperature has a lot to do with the degradation of cannabinoids, especially terpenes and flavonoids. An ideal daytime temperature would be around 25 º C. indoors, being able to rise if administered a greater amount of CO2, another environmental factor.

 

illustration showing the ideal parameters in indoor cannabis cultivation*
illustration showing the ideal parameters in indoor cannabis cultivation*

 

3- Is the way of cultivating very important for the potency of the weed?

 

It’s really important, as we saw before, a perfectly finished plant is not the same as another plant of the same genetics badly cultivated. For example, when we read that PEV Seeds’ Gorilla Vip can exceed 25% THC it is true, but it does not mean that all those who cultivate it are going to get a marijuana with such high levels.

It even happens with clones of the same mother plant, you can give it to a colleague who is an expert in cannabis cultivation, the one who always brings out the best weed, so that he can grow it in his own way. Another cuttings from the same mother you give it to a friend who has just started the cultivation, so that he can grow it as he wants. It is very probable that if you do an analysis when both harvests, the buds of the expert colleague get higher levels of cannabinoids, don’t you believe me? Try it and you’ll tell me…

 

4- What does the way marijuana is conserved have to do with its potency?

 

It really matters a lot, so much so that a cannabis of high potency and delicious flavor can become a mediocre weed. Light, air and humidity can degrade the cannabinoids and terpenes of a crop, so it is very important to keep the buds properly after drying and curing.

The ideal is to keep the harvest in hermetic glass jars, in the dark, in an environment of low humidity. A good conservation is not going to turn a loose marijuana in a powerful grass, but it will get that the power and quality does not decrease, or at least it slows down to the maximum this process.

Another advantage of preserving perfectly cured buds is that they last much longer in optimal conditions, even reaching the next season without hardly changing. We have tried joints from old harvests, more than 5 years old, which were still very good. Obviously not as well as when he was 6 months old that we believe is the moment of maximum power of marijuana, but still very well.

 

image of a glass jar full of buds for preservation*
image of a glass jar full of buds for preservation*

 

 

 

👾 Tips and tricks to increase the potency of your cannabis

 

 

  1. Choose a variety with aTHC potential of more than 20%, if it is possible that it contains quite a lot of Beta-Caryophyllene and Limonene.
  2. Control to the maximum the parameters of the culture, at least these: maximum light, temperature around 25º C. diurnal and 18º C. nocturnal, humidity of more than 50% in growth and less than 50% in flowering.
  3. Use insecticides and natural preventive fungicides, to avoid that some type of plague stops the development of the plants.
  4. Observe the plants daily, if it can be with a magnifying glass or microscope, to correct possible deficiencies, blockages or plagues.
  5. Treat the flowers well, both during cultivation and after harvest. Sometimes I feel sorry to see some people grab the buds, or hit them ruthlessly. This is bad, not because they are also living beings, but because the cannabis resin are very sensitive glands that spoil when touched.
  6. Control parameters during drying, curing and subsequent conservation too, we have already seen how important it is to maintain cannabis right.

 

We have already seen the best way to improve the quality of our cannabis, and as you know the genetic potential is only an important part. So don’t worry, at Pevgrow we can offer you the best genetics on the market.

But, as you have been able to verify, the other part that is going to determine the total power of the marijuana ultimately is you, and on that hand we can also help you to obtain the greater success, so if you have any doubt you can ask us. And if you want others to get the best possible marijuana also the best thing you can do is to share this article, we thank you in advance.

 

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Leave a Comment

  1. Avatar for Jack Pearson

    What about gradually increasing UV levels during flower?

    • Avatar for Juanma de PEVGrow.com

      Hi Jack,
      We talked about it in point 2 of the article.
      The growing conditions are essential to get more trichomes.

      Regards

  2. Avatar for Matt

    You forgot about PK Boost, Sulfur, Natural Plant hormones, chitosan, humic acids, etc