Honestly? Not sure yet, I've read pro's and con's and seen plants done with and without, both seem to produce some nice results. When I just went to photograph the WW looked a bit sad, so maybe there's proof right there that it was effected by the two leaves that came off. Or she may be drooping a bit due to the decent sized watering I gave her an hour ago. It's also close to light's out, so maybe that's it? I don't have experience either way, so made a decision that I would do some defoliation on this grow and see how it goes. All I know is the techniques I'm using for my second grow are working much better than my first, however I have changed pretty much every little thing LOL. Not sure if that helps but good luck