Very keen on hearing more about anything thcv. Good luck and remember its hard to get thcv to be expressed without a decent amount of uva and uvb.
No, THCV does not "need" UVA or UVB to be produced in African cultivars. That's grower folklore, not science. This is exactly why I don't take advice from people who aren't well qualified to speak on the subject. Repeating unverified forum myths as fact just spreads bad information and wastes everyone's time and grows.
THCV and its acidic form THCVA come from the varin pathway. Production is controlled by genetics, specifically the presence and expression of THCV synthase enzymes that convert CBGVA into THCVA. African landraces enriched in these alleles express THCV reliably under standard full-spectrum indoor lights with zero supplemental UV. Modern controlled studies on UV in cannabis consistently show no significant or relevant boost to cannabinoid profiles, including minor cannabinoids like THCV. In fact, many find neutral or negative effects on yield, photosynthesis, and overall quality, with plants showing stress symptoms instead of magic potency gains.
The old 1987 Lydon study, often mis-cited, only noted a small THC bump in one outdated cultivar. It did not address THCV, and newer research on modern high-cannabinoid lines has repeatedly failed to replicate meaningful benefits from UV. African cultivars evolved under high-UV equatorial sun, sure. But that shaped their genetic tolerance and baseline secondary metabolites, not a hard requirement for the biosynthetic pathway.
More importantly the plants are holobionts and will be treated accordingly. Seedlings transfered to growing under the sun in soil. Yes, I do grow indoors in winter, and raise seedlings in a protected enviornment, and grow indoors for simple testing and certain aspects of a project. Im also not working alone. And the goals I have aren't about having my jars filled with these cultivars flowers containing THCV, thats not my medicine. Its about the genetic line, and having these available to people that need that as their medicine. Seeds. Preservation.