I'm not going to bother reading all that, but I'm sure there are plenty of studies that counter the conclusion, whatever that is.
Well yeah In your case where you are not trying to maximize yield you don't pull leaves off. Defoliation is to maximize yield if you doubled the amount of plants or trained more to double the size of the plants you would have to defoliate but you would yield more. Defoliation just makes space for more budsCrowded is definitely one of the scenarios where i could see it being a viable solution. For my needs though, i don't even need to fill my space up fully to get more than I can reasonably smoke before i start me next grow. It's nice to be able to really spread a plant out and let it breath.
I don't care if anyone reads it however a few might and those that do will likely find something of interest about defoliating that they never thought of if it is a topic of interest.I'm not going to bother reading all that, but I'm sure there are plenty of studies that counter the conclusion, whatever that is.
As an avid gardener I can tell you with absolute certainty that cutting a plant back aggressively will always, without fail, result in that plant growing back fuller, and stronger.
The key thing with defol is time. It will, in my experience, increase the veg time by about 25% (again this is my opinion only) but the results are worth the longer veg time.
Also, a defol early in veg often leads to the plant putting more effort into its roots, something you can see very clearly in hydro.
Whatever gets the results, but I've tried both and will certainly stick with heavy defol in veg and very early flower.
I'm only at about 1.1gpw, so nothing special. There are a lot more competent growers out there I'm sure!I don't care if anyone reads it however a few might and those that do will likely find something of interest about defoliating that they never thought of if it is a topic of interest.
Doesn't matter to me, I choose not to do it and study my leaves.
You grow buds, I grow leaves and let the buds take care of themselves. Like you said, to each their own.
There's a gram per watt comp coming up, sounds like a game you could win.
I barely get .85g per watt with my HPS, I'd have no shot lol.
I find the bigger the leaf, the more annoying it is in terms of shading potential sites.RE: leaf size - Just because a leaf is bigger does not necessarily mean there is more photosynthesis taking place. Similarly, plants that are bigger in size due to differences in light quality do not necessarily have increased dry weight. I can't be bothered to find sources, but reading a handful of light quality experiments should verify those statements for anyone.
It's so difficult to quantify the advantages or disadvantages of defol because there are so many factors.For what it's worth, I was a decent outdoor grower once upon a time. Outdoors, I had more big fan leaves, and the sun did it's job.
Most of my indoor plants have smaller leaves than my outdoor plants ever did. May be a coincidence, don't know.
I do know that although my plants have smaller leaves indoors, there are more of them, so it is kind of a wash.
I have grown both defoliating, and not.
I have chosen to defoliate as my method of grow now, in a scrog. But that is simply because I have worked over time to where I am now, each grow a little better than the last.
Ironically, I have never weighed a harvest, so I couldn't even ballpark a GPW. I can visibly see bigger yields each time, though. I am going tot start weighing my grows now.
In a future side by side I plan on doing one where a plant is defoliated, and one is not. Or, two different grow methods, just to see the differences in yield.
I have had huge fan leaves indoors. Cream Cheese CBD rings a bell. Biggest indoors I have seen myself. Which also leads me to believe it may be strain related.
I did defoliate that CCCBD, and the leaves came in smaller.
hit me up in an email.It's so difficult to quantify the advantages or disadvantages of defol because there are so many factors.
You can read one grow journal that does a side by side and they say its advantageous, then read another that says it isn't.
Whatever you do, it'll be contested by some, and promoted by others.
This is the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in on forums. Some people tell the truth, others don't, so it's almost impossible to get facts.
The blessing and curse of the Internet.
Anonimity.
They were stuck in their ways for sure...theyve been around a long time i guess. Times are changin tho! Diyleduk has been given the opportunity to show em the light, which is good.The UK needs another cannabis forum
I think i could agree with you if we perhaps made the distinction that pruning can increase yeild of a given space, but not necessarily increase the yeild per plant. On a per plant basis, all my tests have shown me slightly lower yeild (per plant) from aggressive pruning, but i could see easlily increased yeild/sq ft by jamming more plants in. Either way, i don't fight people on how they grow anymore because they aren't my plants and if they want my opinion I'm sure they'll ask. Lol.Well yeah In your case where you are not trying to maximize yield you don't pull leaves off. Defoliation is to maximize yield if you doubled the amount of plants or trained more to double the size of the plants you would have to defoliate but you would yield more. Defoliation just makes space for more buds
Agree 100%Defoliation IMO is an advanced technique and I can see many grows that do well when it is done especially in a SCROG.
What I think is a mistake is when a new or novice growers remove leaves before they dialed in their grow and before they have learned to read the plant.
I grow organic with top dressings and grow long flowering strains. For me I like my fans to read the plant because everything is pro active in soil when top dressing.
Not sure how mate. Let me know.hit me up in an email.
Lol.I think i could agree with you if we perhaps made the distinction that pruning can increase yeild of a given space, but not necessarily increase the yeild per plant. On a per plant basis, all my tests have shown me slightly lower yeild (per plant) from aggressive pruning, but i could see easlily increased yeild/sq ft by jamming more plants in. Either way, i don't fight people on how they grow anymore because they aren't my plants and if they want my opinion I'm sure they'll ask. Lol.
If you are able to keep your lower fans healthy green to the end as you seem to have been working towards - how about removing only the upper canopy fans?Defoliation IMO is an advanced technique and I can see many grows that do well when it is done especially in a SCROG.
What I think is a mistake is when a new or novice growers remove leaves before they dialed in their grow and before they have learned to read the plant.
I grow organic with top dressings and grow long flowering strains. For me I like my fans to read the plant because everything is pro active in soil when top dressing.
[email protected]Not sure how mate. Let me know.