Maximum Yield Cannabis USA August / September 2017 | Page 20

grow
When it Comes to Cannabis...
Not All μmol are Created Equal
A new grow lamp lighting
standard put forward by
the American Society of
Agricultural and Biological
Engineers could affect
licensed commercial
cannabis growers.
by
A
subcommittee of the American Society
of Agricultural and Biological Engi-
neers (ASABE) recently defined photosyn-
thetic photon flux (PPF) as the main metric
to measure lighting for plant growth. Many
organizations and utilities will likely adopt a
PPF standard of 1.6 micromoles per joule (μmol/J)
as the minimum level for lighting systems at
which occupancy permits may be issued and
rebates may be offered to licensed growers.
This new standard has many limitations
and does not account for how spectral
quality affects plant growth or what different qualities of
light are needed for the vegetative and flowering stages.
The new ASABE Standard X640 will normalize the world of
grow lighting for plants into a single common metric. Light-
ing, artificial or supplemental, will be categorized into one
classification of “goodness.” That metric is micromoles per
second, or, in use of energy, micromoles per joule. It doesn’t
matter whether one grows leafy lettuce, watermelons, or
cannabis; or if one is cloning, starting seeds, or flowering,
the metric will be the same.
It’s like measuring the quality of a car based on fuel
efficiency only.
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