August 07, 2020
The medicinal plants is a plant that is often subjected to harsh conditions (weather and climate conditions) which in turn have an effect on the quality of yield. One such harsh condition that can affect the medicinal plants is heat stress. medicinal plants as a very resilient plant grown in different regions is also capable to withstand heat. However, there is a degree to the amount of heat it is comfortable with.
Heat stress occurs when a medicinal plants is exposed to extreme light conditions when planted indoors as well as extremely hot weather conditions when planted outdoors. Following heat stress, medicinal plants are prone to discoloration, deformation of leaves, and so on.
One way to tell that your medicinal plants are suffering from too much heat is when their leaves begin to curl upward. They’ll also look dry and withered. Look for large, brown spots or blemishes that may be accompanied by yellow patches. These unsightly marks are usually along the edges of the fan leaves, which are the areas in direct line of heat. If you are sure that your medicinal plants is not suffering from any other nutritional deficiency, then you can ascertain that the problem is overheating.
During the flowering phase, you can detect heat stress if you notice that new buds are blooming on top of older ones. Growers call this condition as “foxtail.” It’s a plant’s survival mechanism to keep reproducing and generating new seeds.
While overheating can severely damage a medicinal plants grow, there are a number of relatively simple measures that a technologically equipped grower can take to both prevent and remediate heat stress.
1. Monitor and Manage
Monitoring is a key step in heat management. An environmental management system should be implemented to track temperature, as well as humidity, nutrients, and other key factors. Equipped with such a system, a grower who cannot be on-site 24/7 still can observe temperatures and even make adjustments with a smartphone app.
Low humidity can worsen the symptoms of heat stress, so keep an eye on this measure as well. Here, again, a system of sensors and monitors, along with remote management tools, can help a grower contain the issue relatively easily.
2.Make sure there are enough fans in your grow space
Wherever you grow your medicinal plants—in a closet, tent, or basement—you need to make sure they’re getting a healthy flow of air. The cheapest and most straightforward solution is to place cooling fans. The wind generated by electric fans helps cool the area down and keeps air circulating. It will also ensure that the medicinal plants will develop thicker and stronger stems.
3.Change your lighting
Choose your lights carefully, if you are using LED grow lights(full spectrum LED grow light) you can run slightly warmer temperature because the lights don’t generate as much radiant heat on the leaf surface whereas HID lights such as double-ended HPS grow lights need to run at slightly cooler temperatures as they create more radiant heat of the leaf surface.
4.Install air conditioning
The best thing about growing your plants indoors is that you have total control over your space’s microclimate. If you live in a hot environment, you may want to consider installing an airconditioning unit in your grow space. Though it’s a more expensive solution, it can save your crops from wilting and dying.
5.Improving The Growing Medium
An excellent way to retain more moisture in your growing medium over the long term and reducing water usage is to improve your growing medium. This does not mean that you will think of the micro or macronutrients, but more of capillary action and water retention. Growing with a dense soil base can sometimes lead to efficiency issues with regards to the wicking action and water storage. Using coco from the hairs of coconut husks is a brilliant way to retain moisture. Coco has an incredible ability to keep water locked into the substrate, available for the plants to use. Many hydroponic growers who use coco will often mix a 50/50 ratio of coco and perlite as this combination improves drainage, water retention, and capillary action. Adding vermiculite is also a great way to keep the growing medium moist. Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral that is made when the mineral is heated. A good ratio to mix with an existing soil bed would be a 50/50 ratio and the same with coco to the soil.
These steps are sure to protect your plant from heat stress and will in turn ensure that you enjoy maximum yield from your grow operation.