The poll asked about yield and potency, there shouldn't be much debate there that coco can outperform a lot of other mediums in those two areas when properly optimized, it's sort of just a question about CEC and fertigation rates. I think most people with more than .7 grows under their belt quickly realize that it's not just about yield and potency, and certainly the method that yields the most potent weed might be so time intensive and expensive to setup that it's totally unreasonable for almost all hobbyist growers. </soapbox>
One major pro to coco in my opinion when it comes to autoflowers specifically is that it can stabilize one set of variables in your grow as you roll the dice with seeds. With photoperiod setups, you usually plan around the behavior of your prized strains, and that can often dictate other variables. With autoflowers, I would argue the most successful growers figure out a very reliable, sturdy, consistent grow methodology and then run whatever beans they can get their hands on through that 'machine' and that results in the best results. @Mañ'O'Green and @Mr.Sparkle come to mind, two growers with very closely controlled parameters that allow them to run a wide variety of seeds with great results.
In that sense, coco offers a great neutral platform to really dial in a home grow setup. Bringing a sufficient quantity of soil inside to have a productive, self-sufficient autoflower setup feels almost immediately impractical if you can't compost or grow worms on premises.
One major pro to coco in my opinion when it comes to autoflowers specifically is that it can stabilize one set of variables in your grow as you roll the dice with seeds. With photoperiod setups, you usually plan around the behavior of your prized strains, and that can often dictate other variables. With autoflowers, I would argue the most successful growers figure out a very reliable, sturdy, consistent grow methodology and then run whatever beans they can get their hands on through that 'machine' and that results in the best results. @Mañ'O'Green and @Mr.Sparkle come to mind, two growers with very closely controlled parameters that allow them to run a wide variety of seeds with great results.
In that sense, coco offers a great neutral platform to really dial in a home grow setup. Bringing a sufficient quantity of soil inside to have a productive, self-sufficient autoflower setup feels almost immediately impractical if you can't compost or grow worms on premises.