LST low stress training

The low stress training method on Cannabis is the most used and least invasive cultivation technique, in practice it consists in tying the stems and branches of the plant downwards in order to favor horizontal growth, so as to improve the lighting in every part of the plant and consequently maximize the harvest. LST is also a method used for plant growth control to optimize grow space.

LST is the acronym of Low Stress Training or Low Stress Technique, a very simple way to improve the harvest and give a different shape to the plant to adapt it to the space we have available. This method, unlike other cultivation techniques such as topping or bending the stems, does not bring excessive stress to delay its growth.

The standard growth of Cannabis is said to have a dominant apex, secondary branches branch off from a main stem which will bear less fruit than the main stem. The intention of the LST is to modify the plant growth and to make the stem grow horizontally so that the branches, when in flowering, will all have the same light exposure without some being in shadow due to the main stem or of upper branches.

The lst training technique, how to do it correctly

In addition to being among the most used techniques by hemp growers, ligatures to improve the harvest is a very ancestral method used since Ancient Egypt to change the shape of fruit trees. Even today it is a technique widely used by modern farmers in orchards and vineyards, to grow the branches horizontally to facilitate harvesting and improve lighting; widely used from an aesthetic point of view in gardens to govern the shape of the essences.

How to perform the Cannabis lst Training Technique? The equipment we will need are few and basic: rubberized wire for plants that can be easily found in garden shops, possibly a wooden rod such as bamboo and a tool to pierce the pot that we will surely already have at home. As a technique it is very cheap and the results are amazing.

• First of all, it is a technique that must be tackled when the plant is in its elastic phase or in vegetative growth where branches and stems are very elastic and lend themselves to bending and binding operations without undergoing excessive stress. When the Cannabis plant enters flowering it stiffens naturally due to the thickening of the bark and the lignification of the stem, bending operations would be dangerous and there is a risk of breaking the branches.
• You can begin to bend the plant, forcing it to grow horizontally through ligatures, right from the first internode. We will start with a first binding, in the opposite direction to the subsequent bindings, a few centimeters from the ground which will serve to prevent the young stem from bending under the action of the subsequent bindings.
• As the plant grows, we will bend the stem by tying it down. Ropes or tapes that we will use, at least in the part in direct contact with the plant, must be rubberized so as not to damage the plant. Iron wires or thin ropes are not recommended because over time they risk cutting into the stem and damaging the plant. On the market there are special metal wires covered with a thick rubber, used for similar operations in gardening.
• We can anchor the ligatures that we will carry out to the upper edge of the vase , through holes previously made on our vase. In case it is difficult for us to anchor the ligature to the vase, due to the size of the plant, we can fix a rod placed horizontally parallel to the stem to the vase where we will anchor our ligatures.
• The knot or noose that we will make near the plant must not tighten the branch but have a certain amount of play. When tying the plant, it will be necessary to take into account the growth of the tissues and to avoid that the tying strangles the plant.
• If we are in an indoor cultivation environment and we have height problems , we can also contain the branches by tying them in a similar way to the stem, possibly in an orthogonal direction to the stem for better spacing of future buds.
• Not only the stem and branches but also the leaves, in particular the large primary ones , as the main sources of light supply they can be directed with the ligatures for a better light capture.

How to increase the yield of lst autoflowers?

Can I grow autoflowers with LST? Low Stress Training is a technique that can be performed on all Indica/Sativa hybrids, it is also a method that can also be useful outdoors. A feature of this technique is that it can also be used in the cultivation of automatic strains . In fact, it is known that autoflowering plants  do not adapt well to any type of stress and various cultivation techniques, while with the LST technique they behave very well, increasing their harvest.

So I can also increase the yield with LST on autoflowers , in the same way, as described in the previous paragraphs, we can get a higher yield and change the shape of our auto genetics unlike the topping techniques not recommended for these varieties.