Autoflowering Defoliation: Positive or Negative

[Epic Genetics]

I never claimed to et big buds.The physics speak for themselves.Photosythesis is what it is.A fact.yet for Max distance for less powered lights such as T-5's as well as CFL's I have hands down provided a little more flower power for photos.Auto Ive never removed more than 6-8 large sun leaves over the course of any AF grow.and it does improve em some.as far as T-5 n CFL grows go.Ive mostly documented that for my current AF grows if you read it.I say trimmed these two and will show ya pics if ya choose.But Im being as honest as honest is brother Bob.Ive doeit with slightly better results.only cuz I use lesser lights than many do.if I was running HID's or a good LED,I doubt Id do much(still some)of the sun leaf trimming.

the 20 years i defoliated was using t12/typical florescent tubes because that first person to steal a street light/hps hadnt done so yet

we all grew with florescents and thought we needed to get more light to the buds , but light alone is NOT what feeds those buds

imo there is a good chance that yourself as well as others have done more , spent more time , improved other areas to of seen improvement , as it is not due to removing the plants solar panels so to speak

peace

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p.s. ive positioned lights vertically lower on the plants and the top buds still grew bigger , thats just naturally how these plants grow , all the growth hormones are sent to the tops and ends of each branch/stem , lighting does not change that , it is built that way due to nature

peace

 

[Eyes on Fire]

I agree 100% except I think we're getting our wires crossed a lil. I use the inverse square law theroy and never took all of them off.Ive left ALL the smaller one On the flowers ,and a few of thestand alone leaves on the plant. and gotmax penetration.Only because I use at the time 125W CFL's.ivenoticed small improvements on my flower thus far trimming SOME not a lot just cuz I use top lighting only.but I agree if you used side lighting and a good reflective areas to bounce off of,you prolly would need to trim all but 6 er so at most imo.leaf tucking n things will go a long ways.One of those plants on that article are mine actually.but that was again a super noob doing a large ole Photo with only a 125W cfl.I could be wrong absolutley but leaving all the flower leaves on and some other smaller ones ,I feel helped.BUT, taking them all off?yeah your gonna crash n burn n stunt the crap outta yer plant hands down imo.you NEED to have some level of Photosynthesis.Nowchemosynthesis is another animal all together.More for a quick lanky veg cycle as well as a faster root growth,not really development,but growth.

 

[Grey Bear]

I agree 100% except I think we're getting our wires crossed a lil. .

Don't take it personally EoF, BB really doesn't give himself full credit. He is actually a professional cranky old fart that like many professionals, just can't give it up.
He is great for dialogue!
:Sharing One:

 

[AndyBotwin]

I tuck my fans if they're really in the way but otherwise never remove anything. I've never understood the logic that a bunch of scraggly sugar leaves can photosynthesize better than a few big fan leaves.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

Oh no worries brother.Im takingnothing at all personal in the slightest whatsoever.Im just tryin to say that for a noob having one 125W CFL I dosagree to leave all the big ole leaves on.it does and will lessen the size n solidity of the lower popcorn buds.Im well aware brother bob is a super kick ass dude and a killer grower.But using the inverse law theory its just a mathmatical fact that for what I mentioned I used,its beter to remove many of te larger ones.thats all.but as a rule.like I said,I agree with Bob 1000% hands down.

 

[Epic Genetics]

Don't take it personally EoF, BB really doesn't give himself full credit. He is actually a professional cranky old fart that like many professionals, just can't give it up.
He is great for dialogue!
:Sharing One:

in all honesty , im just very passionate about seeing everyone do the best they can and to avoid the mistakes made by myself and many others over the years

ive said all i needed to say about this topic so ill bow out now

peace

 

[Eyes on Fire]

the one thing I did fail to mention,(sorry for that) is when I did this the upper flowers were well established and I took the upper fans off to get to the lower fans that I did keep.it helped.But again,I was(and still am)a newer grower at the time and it made sence.Would I do that now with more skills Ive gain fro Bob and many others?no I would not Thats why I preach leaf tucking too.al the time everywhere.I truly sorry bob,I truly wasnt trying to agruge in the slightesy brother,truly. here man,lets just go burn one buddy n relax by the water n have a glass of wine

 

[Grey Bear]

in all honesty , im just very passionate about seeing everyone do the best they can and to avoid the mistakes made by myself and many others over the years

peace

I agree BB, I hate seeing people get bad info as well.
And I am a pretty passionate old coot myself.
You always have great stuff to share and make great conversation!

 

[Eyes on Fire]

Im failry certain I get it.Im an A$$ and I was wrong."AFN smoke out"

 

[SkatterBrayne]

Defoliation is great, when combined with training to open up the structure of the plant to create more productive branches. Exposing branches to light by STRATEGICALLY removing obstructive fan leaves is a good way to get those branches light, and improve airflow.

If your genetics are weak, or your strain is temperamental, you are shit out of luck. You'll do more harm than good. Otherwise, it is a beneficial technique when properly applied to HEALTHY plants. It's always a good idea to limit defoliating sessions to 5 leaves or so, and it would be wise to use silica additives for further stress resistance.

If you believe under no circumstances is defoliation beneficial, I suggest you take a look at the results of vertical growers. It is widely accepted that defoliation is beneficial as well as necessary in vertical lighting configurations.