I wouldn't remove a single leave from that plant either, considering the few small ones it has now. I grow bigger leaves than than in the first weeks under 3x18w CFL... Looks like a waste of veg time... not a well-trained plant.
Hating on any form or amount of defoliation is just an excuse for folks that aren't able to grow a thick amount of large leaves in the first place.
I can see why the other guy isn't posting any pics - you guys are so full of yourselves anyway, no amount of pic or cold hard proof will change that. I barely ever pull a leaf from my plants unless it's nearly dead, I rather prune a branch earlier/planned, yet I see many 1gpw+ growers who defoliate a good amount and grow A quality stuff from top to bottom (oh hell no you don't want me to show you pics from them... that would be too much reality for you to handle).
You ask for evidence while your own opinions on the matter are highly subjective, to your own situation, setups and methods. Defoliating as standard practice to improve yields is obviously silly, lollypopping is just nuts, but:
I'm all for scientific evidence, but unlike you obviously, I know plenty of commercial growers who've done more than a few indoor cycles and know from years of experience that if they don't defoliate a little they end up with less money. Simple as that. Google won't help you with everything. You can talk about photosynthesizes and make silly comparisons to wings of butterflies, the reality is that there's more to it, more factors to consider. Like moist and possibly dew on overlapping leaves, leaves pushing against buds, leaves preventing proper air/co2 flow, and yes, fuck those old outdated guides - they block light to lower budsites. 3 or 4 bigger-than-my-hand fan leaves stacked on top of each other tend to do that...
"Canopy control"...
