I defoliate a little each time i water starting later in veg when I see that bud sites don’t have light reaching them. Especially when the dan leaves are 3-4 ft from the light getting nothing at all! I lollipop em nice! Then when I switch to flowering I go for maybe a week or two into it then I stop. I’ve always had great results. Some people say leave the plants alone, I say go for it!!!
Edit - is that WW? Looks super similar to mine, real nice!