Quote Originally Posted by home.grower

It would be interesting if dependency on genetics is a contributing factor to how one should adjust their gardens environment. Example: If I grow a strain indigenous to an equatorial region, should I adjust my garden environment to replicate important aspects of the climate in that geographic location to maximize my yield? As a guess, a plant in its originating environment should yield maximum beneficial produce comparative to a more northern or southern hemisphere climate put in its place....

Thank you ladies and gentlemen!!
Me being a native outdoor cultivator I believe I can expand a bit on this. I'm no genius but I'm pretty knowledgable about climate changes and what not...

Short answer to your question is yes, absolutely.

There's a certain level of common sense and overall natural instinct on climate variation that goes hand in hand for everything from plants to animals comming from different regions. Example, if you buy a Monitor lizard from a pet store, you don't throw it into a dry fridged environment and expect it to thrive. It would die rather quick...

If you're given specific specifications on a particular strain native to a particular region it would be optimal and complimentary to grow under its native conditions. This would include the regions photoperiod.

Equitorial strains would require completely different accomodations than a strain native to a more seasonal region. For one, the seasonal changes in light abundance are not as extreme in equitorial regions. Thus, you would want to gather the regions photoperiod information and apply it to your grow accordingly. The more accurately you can mimmic the regions climate the more "at home" the plant would feel and therefor the healthier it would develope...

Does this mean that it is absolutely REQUIRED that you accomodate the EXACT conditions of the native region? In my opinion, no. I'm sure the plant would semi-adapt to survive. Animals may not. Plants have that ability. But only to a certain extent.

Plants being different from animals in that they require 3 basic things (light, soil and water) to at LEAST survive you can rest assured that if you are attempting a grow with a tropically native strain your plant will not instantly wilt and die if your humidity level falls below 70% for instance..lol.

Does accomodating the right conditions mean higher yields? Maybe...Probably, given all the other elements in the grow are up to par with the strains native region. (soil, temperature, humidity, ect.)

Remember that the climate is not always EXACTLY the same every year in any given region. Climate changes can be very little to extreme in some cases. Plants tend to adapt accordingly in the region. Some species may not...

I always say try not to apply too much knowledge to your grow because the basic rules of life still apply, you just never know!

Hope I was of some help...