Is lollipopping really worth it? Does it increase yield

I know if I chop those bottom branches off that have little popcorn buds it will allow more nutes and stuff to get to the top allowing bigger kolas but it stresses me out what if it doesn’t make your kolas bigger and you just chopped off branches. Does it really increase the yield

Well yes but it really only works if you let them veg long enough and trained them out to have multiple tops. That means topping them first at least a couple times. The lowers you cut off would've produced exactly squat anyway under a heavy canopy. Plus lollipopping is an opportunity to make clones. It is not a game changer for yields in and of itself but if you prune the bottoms and train out the tops it will help push more a few more g per cola.
I find it is even more effective to increase yield per cola if you couple it with a gradual lowering of the light hours in the weeks before flipping to bloom phase. It reduces stretching and forms a tight stacking of the lateral branches which results in long spires that eventually become a solid finger of bud. Just lower the light (daytime) hours from 18/6 to 17/7 for a week and then 16/8 for the week after that and then 15/9 the following week & so on. Most strains show pistils at 14/10 so it is at this point you can flip them to 12/12 to begin bloom phase. Try it out it really works!

It's better to look at it this way.......

1. It makes it easier to water the plants.......

2. It increases the air flow down below the canopy

3. It's easier to get to the dead material that drops down low and reach plants further back in the room

4. Easier to spray for bugs down low on the main stem

5. It will increase bud/cola size by a small bit as the plant will use that energy towards bud production, rather than the lower stuff

6. You won't have to stake the lower stuff, where the branches are less developed and can't hold their bud weight.

A no brainer..........

I trim off the bottom stuff because it is usually fluffy airy buds that won't amount to much and they are a pain in the ass to trim and I'm lazy. Also it looks better, more tidy.

A negative is if your plant needs nutrients at all, it will take them from the lowest leaves, or buds. So for me, there's not as much room for error when trying to maximize yield.

All the above is right on mark for indoor growers, but the biggie for me {as an outdoor guy} is it saves trim time. Any larf I do have goes into the edible pile.

The plants will lollipop themselves but it does increase airflow which is crucial in scrog setups or if your overcrowded.
Plant LEAVES are like solar panels they never take, only produce. plants shed them when they get too low in efficiency.
But larf BUDS do waste valuable resources as the plant prioritizes sexual function.

thinning the canopy prevents disease and pests. Do it.

Mainline and lolypop and i promise your total will go up and there will be absolutly 0 larf

yo_Dyldo said:

I know if I chop those bottom branches off that have little popcorn buds it will allow more nutes and stuff to get to the top allowing bigger kolas but it stresses me out what if it doesn’t make your kolas bigger and you just chopped off branches. Does it really increase the yield

Click to expand...

Increasing yieldrobable... Decreasing yield: improbable. I always defoliate. Stops me from harvesting small popcorn bottom buds. Plus it seems to increase my yield.

yo_Dyldo said:

I know if I chop those bottom branches off that have little popcorn buds it will allow more nutes and stuff to get to the top allowing bigger kolas but it stresses me out what if it doesn’t make your kolas bigger and you just chopped off branches. Does it really increase the yield

Click to expand...

I havent found anything that increases yield except longer veg time(with all other controls in place), with/without plant training.

I remove everything below my light penetration point, around 20-30 inches from the top for a few reasons. Nobody is interested in popcorn larf these days. the stuff is gold of course, riddled with frosty calyx...but lets face it...with arm size colas of every star chemdog always at the ready for the pipe or paper, why would I mess with it even. I'm not short supplied, not on a budget, have plenty of colas to spend too.
The removal allows me to monitor the soil surface easier, keeps splashing mud off the buds/plant, makes trimming/harvesting better, avoids excess weight limit issues, makes more room for drying colas in my dry space too.
cal it defoliation, lollipopping, whatever, it works for me but does little to increase anything.
In veg it does cause hormone messages that may make the plant respond with more growth on top, like topping causes more growth on the bottom.

I've never seen side by side comparison with the resulting bud weight examined. It's simply described as producing more weight. No testing, no proof.

I defoliated this round. Made the canopy about 2-2.5 inches thick. But that's not only to increase airflow. But to also allow access to the soil under my scrog mesh. Otherwise I'd be fighting larf and leaves, just to water my damn plant.

Think of it like an air gap between bugs and buds... if there's no food theres less infestation

I dont see it as increasing yield, just improves overall quality of the harvest. No larf, all prime nuggage.

lol

so much bro science...

you don't gain, you lose weight. promise, true story...

it DOES help with air flow and helps reduce and/or prevent budrot aka powdery mildew...

as most bugs accumulate at tops, thinning actually encourages infestation if you already have a case of the nasties...

as most indoor people are trying to maximize effort, many over veg, and get a major crowding issue. chopping 50% is more necessity than choice.

the extra lower veg stuff can be left at harvest (after chopping all tops and main branches) for two weeks for an additional gain. it isn't a laughable amount...

i'm not saying don't, btw... just saying don't knock it til you try it. wisdom is a culmination of knowledge, experience, and good old fashioned trial and error.

i veg to 3' indoors, i bend and break and mutilate for 8 weeks. then i flower and forget about it. that larf adds up to ounces and ounces of personal leaf, rosin, iso, tincture, salve, butter, etc.

i like the extra half pound of ''shitty'' product per plant. it means i never have to smoke flowers, or cut into the harvest for 'personal' gratification.

post script,

i don't trim larf. it's hash, stash, or mash any way, so it's not a 'bitch' to deal with as it all goes in the utility bin. iso cares fuck less what it looks like, butter blends it in, the hulk smash leaves a green chip...

there is no trim effort involved in leaving lowers. just toss it aside til dry, then hobby the fuck out of it...

cat of curiosity said:

lol

so much bro science...

you don't gain, you lose weight. promise, true story...

it DOES help with air flow and helps reduce and/or prevent budrot aka powdery mildew...

as most bugs accumulate at tops, thinning actually encourages infestation if you already have a case of the nasties...

as most indoor people are trying to maximize effort, many over veg, and get a major crowding issue. chopping 50% is more necessity than choice.

the extra lower veg stuff can be left at harvest (after chopping all tops and main branches) for two weeks for an additional gain. it isn't a laughable amount...

i'm not saying don't, btw... just saying don't knock it til you try it. wisdom is a culmination of knowledge, experience, and good old fashioned trial and error.

i veg to 3' indoors, i bend and break and mutilate for 8 weeks. then i flower and forget about it. that larf adds up to ounces and ounces of personal leaf, rosin, iso, tincture, salve, butter, etc.

i like the extra half pound of ''shitty'' product per plant. it means i never have to smoke flowers, or cut into the harvest for 'personal' gratification.

Click to expand...

Been sitting on the fence watching this thread. The "CAT" here has the best answer I've seen on this yet! Others are pretty damn good too but, this is really good.

I have seen some major work done at removing lower material to gain huge cola's at the canopy level. It involves stages of removal. It can be (here's that dreaded line) strain dependent. Be quite effective. Some do it well, others don't need it....I've seen some flat out amazing ECSD cola's as a result.

I too do the harvest in steps. Something to be considered here is that those lower buds, if cared for properly, and you allow them to remain on the plant longer then the first harvest (1 to 2 weeks). They ripen and it's proven that these lower buds are actually higher in potency then their big brothers. UB said this here years ago. it was followed by him being slammed and trolled.

But he's right! Jorge and Ed agree and have said so in places. I have patients that specifically ask for the "late harvest" lower buds....

One thing to consider, when lollypopping, (I do this) is to do a second node removal at 2 weeks. You remove in the shape of a cone - base up, to 1/3 of the total plant height. Sometimes I forget or am busy and it doesn't get done. It's no problem to me. I tend to make edible coconut oil from them or make Cob's (Cob cured).....I find it amusing as some laugh at cob's....they never tried it.....It does work.

I added the above for info. Cat has really nailed it though....

cat of curiosity said:

post script,

i don't trim larf. it's hash, stash, or mash any way, so it's not a 'bitch' to deal with as it all goes in the utility bin. iso cares fuck less what it looks like, butter blends it in, the hulk smash leaves a green chip...

there is no trim effort involved in leaving lowers. just toss it aside til dry, then hobby the fuck out of it...

Click to expand...

Larf is what you make it.

Tried it last harvest on a plant. I also ended up doing staged harvests. Not gonna say that yield increased, but the second cutting I was pleasantly surprised at the compaction of lower buds. They all went into my utility pile, but they weren't super airy. I suspect that yield was no diff than normal overall.

Its just another technique to try. I'd imagine that there are some applications where it would be beneficial, but not a game changer. Try it and see the results for yourself, you may be hooked, or not. But you'll have direct knowledge.