The only way to achieve the yield and consistency in cannabis cultivation that will inevitably be required for federal rescheduling is with complete control over the indoor environment. With legislative change closer than ever, crop steering is the new buzzword among growers. It's an advanced approach that aims to achieve these lofty goals.
We've covered cannabis crop steering more broadly, as well as more detailed explanations of climate and lighting cues used to move plants into and out of vegetative and generative growth phases. Now, it’s time to wrap up our series with the final piece: crop steering with irrigation.
What Is Crop Steering?
As a reminder, crop steering is a cultivation technique that manipulates a plant's environment (light, climate, and irrigation) to control growth patterns in a strategic manner.
By implementing periods of environmental stress, growers steer plants toward either vegetative or generative (reproductive) growth phases. When applied to indoor cannabis cultivation, this method has proven to maximize yield and target desired phytochemical traits by precisely managing the plant's growth cycle with high- and low-stress levers.
Crop steering orchestrates a range of environmental cues, including temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, light intensity/duration, and irrigation practices to influence plant growth.
Crop Steering for Cannabis Cultivation with Irrigation Cues
Irrigation tactics like controlling moisture levels, dry back periods, and nutrient levels are crucial in steering plants where you want them to go. This component is so essential to crop steering that many consider it the backbone of this cultivation methodology.
Irrigation cues up plant growth by manipulating three different cues:
- Dry backs: the time between each irrigation period
- Shots: the total volume delivered during an irrigation period
- Field capacity: the point during irrigation when the substrate cannot absorb any more water
All of these cues play into the electrical conductivity (EC) of the system:
- Lower EC encourages greater water uptake relative to nutrients, facilitating cell expansion for larger leaves and stronger stems. Lower EC is naturally useful for vegetative stages of growth.
- High EC limits water uptake, concentrating the plant's energy on reproductive development. It also increases potassium and phosphorus absorption, which is crucial for flower and fruit formation.
With so many cues, the only way to properly (and consistently) execute such a highly technical cultivation method is with a fully automated facility with advanced monitoring and controls. It's simply not possible to manage with manual systems, nor can you properly track outcomes with numbers scribbled on a whiteboard.
The 4 Phases of Irrigation in Crop Steering
Typically, growers implement an irrigation schedule that cycles through four phases every 24 hours. These phases will vary depending on whether the grower is aiming for a high- or low-stress environment.
Here are the four phases of irrigation in crop steering:
Phase Zero: Additional Dry Back
This phase occurs between the lights turning on and the first irrigation event.
During this time, growers may allow for an extra dry back period, which helps regulate when the plant begins transpiring. This phase is crucial as it sets the plant's metabolism and growth direction for the day.
Phase One: Ramp-Up
This phase starts with the first irrigation event of the day and continues until the substrate reaches its target volumetric water content (VWC%). Rather than a single watering, this phase involves small, frequent waterings to ensure even distribution throughout the substrate.
Phase Two: Maintenance
This phase begins when the substrate reaches its maximum VWC% and lasts until the day's final irrigation event. The goal here is to adjust substrate EC by managing dry back percentages and irrigation shot sizes.
Smaller, frequent irrigation shots promote runoff, which helps flush out salts and reduce EC, while larger, less frequent shots minimize runoff, increasing substrate EC. The approach to this phase can vary based on the plant size, water uptake capacity, and the targeted dry back percentage.
Phase Three: Overnight Dry Back
This phase occurs from the last irrigation event of the day until the lights come on the next morning.
During this period, the substrate VWC% decreases as plants continue to transpire overnight. This phase intentionally subjects plants to mild drought stress, which triggers specific hormonal responses beneficial to the plant's growth and development.
Pulling it All Together: Environmental Monitoring and Control
Irrigation may be the cornerstone of crop steering, but it's still only one piece of a much greater puzzle. Climate and lighting play integral roles in the process. With so many moving parts, crop steering can never be a manual process—it requires extensive coordination between sometimes quite disparate automated systems to make it all work.
Enter TSRgrow's GROWHub Environmental Monitoring Software
This advanced platform serves as an autopilot solution for crop steering. It provides real-time data to monitor, control, and analyze past and present grow cycles.
Uniquely designed to integrate data pulled from wireless sensors throughout the grow room, GROWHub Environmental Monitoring Software can detect even slight fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and other critical parameters. This allows for immediate responses to environmental changes, safeguarding plant health by preempting potential issues.
GROWHub is perfectly synchronized with TSRgrow's Advanced LED Lighting solutions and remote power servers, creating customized lighting zones. With control centralized into a single, easy-to-navigate dashboard, growers can optimize the room, whether it's a single-strain or multi-strain space.
This revolutionary system contains advanced data and reporting capabilities, giving growers the insights needed to review past harvests and adjust processes for better future outcomes. Whether you are making a subtle tweak or doing a complete overhaul, this level of detailed analysis helps master growers achieve optimal yields and improve facility efficiency.
Are You Ready To Upgrade Your Crop Steering Strategy?
TSRgrow's range of solutions for commercial cannabis cultivation makes it possible to manage, track, and autonomously control the environment, no matter how many moving parts it brings together.
Get in touch with our sales team today to see how TSRgrow' fits into your strategy.
