Defoliation during late flower

Hey,

I'm about 2 or 3 weeks out from harvest and I want to trim off some of the big fan leafs to allow more light in the bottom as well as saving time later at harvest. I've done this before and everything went well. I'm just a little worried as this is a excellent batch and j don't want to damage or hurt the plant and/or bud. Look at the pic I included and please lend you advice on this matter. Greatly appreciated as always. Thanks !

It will not make any sense,plants have leaves for a reason.And it looks liked it's been raped of it's leaves already.

nmibud said:

It will not make any sense,plants have leaves for a reason.And it looks liked it's been raped of it's leaves already.

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Yes sir !

“Plant have leaves for a reason”

Yea ....plants are also suppose to grow outside were light penetration is incomparable to a man made fixture.

Also believe it or not but the plants sole purpose isn't for you to smoke it. Its to procreate. Plants produce resin to stick pollen. So if you cut leaves in last 2 weeks stressing the plant all it'll do is speed up resin production as plant gives last burst of energy to try and procreate..the “ohh shit im dying” effect. A yellow leaf hanging off the stem dont do much for the plant anymore anyway. Im not saying cut off every leaf but a few here and there too let in light is 100% okay.

budsfordayz said:

“Plant have leaves for a reason”

Yea ....plants are also suppose to grow outside were light penetration is incomparable to a man made fixture.

Also believe it or not but the plants sole purpose isn't for you to smoke it. Its to procreate. Plants produce resin to stick pollen. So if you cut leaves in last 2 weeks stressing the plant all it'll do is speed up resin production as plant gives last burst of energy to try and procreate..the “ohh shit im dying” effect. A yellow leaf hanging off the stem dont do much for the plant anymore anyway. Im not saying cut off every leaf but a few here and there too let in light is 100% okay.

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Amen

I wouldnt cut leaves off at any point in flowering

Ahhh, the good old to rip that dying leaf off...or leave it on?

Yellow, dead leaves should always be removed. Dead leaves are useless and attract pests. The plant will stress itself more trying to suck what little life it has left in that leaf. The point shouldnt be to create more light, you should be doing this to save your girl the stress of trying to save a leaf and or pests. Light penetration beyond a leaf isnt that big of deal.

I've seen a 10" fan leaf moved, only to find a 10g bud hiding behind it

If it falls off with ease...it's worth removing.

I give it a light tug. If it comes off, it wasn’t needed. If it stays attached, I leave it.
I never cut fan leaves to allow more light as light is absorbed by the leaves themselves.

A leaf blocking a bud doesn't reduce the bud growth
In fact most buds shielded by leaves are some of the frostiest

I think that people are focusing on the wrong thing when they debate defoliation. It seems that everyone is so focused on removing leaves to get increased light penetration, which can have it's merits (or course that's debatable). To me a bigger benefit that often gets overlooked in increased airflow in the canopy. Also plants are proven to "feel" their surroundings, and grow accordingly. It's not ridiculous to consider that buds may get bigger as a result of leaf removal, because they sense that they now have increased room in their environment to grow big.

BurnzyBurnz said:

Hey,

I'm about 2 or 3 weeks out from harvest and I want to trim off some of the big fan leafs to allow more light in the bottom as well as saving time later at harvest. I've done this before and everything went well. I'm just a little worried as this is a excellent batch and j don't want to damage or hurt the plant and/or bud. Look at the pic I included and please lend you advice on this matter. Greatly appreciated as always. Thanks !

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I do it selectively. The largest roughest ones first. Remember the fan leaves are the plants first line reserves.

Some heavy claims but I don't see any links for what people are asserting as facts.

Plants get stressed keeping a yellow leaf - Link? - As far as I know the moment a plant decides a green leaf is no longer needed, becomes the peak of the ''stress'' curve, while yellowing is the ramp down. I'm also not sure stress is the right word for what we are talking about here.

If you tug a leaf and it falls off it isn't needed - Link? - That really does not sound like a method based on science, even if the leaf is yellowing (you don't do that with green leaves I imagine?). Just a little side joke though, if a giant pulls your finger and it falls off... .

budsfordayz said:

So if you cut leaves in last 2 weeks stressing the plant all it'll do is speed up resin production as plant gives last burst of energy to try and procreate..the “ohh shit im dying” effect.

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I may have read this wrong but are you suggesting stressing a plant in the last two weeks is ok as it will increase resin production?. If so, can you prove the extra stress induced resin production does not come at the cost of lower yield or other aspects?.

@Matt1983NS
@DocktaGreenThumb

Sorry for the @s, little stoned and forgot how to quote at first ;p. And don't take these questions the wrong way. I just prefer to know what is an opinion and what is an actual fact.

Some replies come from experience...

Have you considered harvesting in stages. I tried it last grow and was impressed with how the lower buds matured and got dense. Even the little shit. It’s a real test of patience though, for sure. I recall someone here, @Dr.Who maybe mentioned that the second harvest may be higher in THC as well.

Absolutely no fact or science that I’m aware of in my method. It’s just what I do. And no I don’t tug the green leaves. I meant the leaves that have been yellowing for more than a few days.
As for plants “sensing” where leaves and branches are, I can only guess this is true from the SOG method I run where the plants are packed so tight they don’t grow many side branches. However this may be from initiating flowering as soon as the clones have rooted.

Flowki said:

If you tug a leaf and it falls off it isn't needed - Link? - That really does not sound like a method based on science

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It works well for me. I know it's anecdotal but look up abscission (sp?) cells too. These cells are what cause the leaves to fall off when diseased or nutrient deficient. When the plant decides it no longer needs the leaf it literally cuts it off the stem.

Flowki said:

you don't do that with green leaves I imagine?

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Yep. I am always pulling and bending my plants when I water them. Spin them around and get a good look at them, etc.

Matt1983NS said:

As for plants “sensing” where leaves and branches are, I can only guess this is true from the SOG method I run where the plants are packed so tight they don’t grow many side branches. However this may be from initiating flowering as soon as the clones have rooted.

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Plant perception (physiology)


<snip>
Botanical research has revealed that plants are capable of reacting to a broad variety of stimuli, including chemicals, gravity, light, moisture, infections, temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, parasite infestation, disease, physical disruption, sound, and touch.
</snip>

I used to be against defoliation.

I did an experiment last run with two triple nova plants that were nearly identical. I defoliated one heavily at day 2 of 12/12. She looked naked.

At the end of the run the defoliated plant produced the same size colas and side buds but the inner and lower bits were much better than they were on the non defoliated plant.

When the plant was finished it had plenty of leaf as I had defoliated it at day 2. I wish I had taken pictures.

I plan to do more experiments, with defoliation.

PJ Diaz said:

Plant perception (physiology)

Plant perception (physiology) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

<snip>
Botanical research has revealed that plants are capable of reacting to a broad variety of stimuli, including chemicals, gravity, light, moisture, infections, temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, parasite infestation, disease, physical disruption, sound, and touch.
</snip>

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There ya go, no more guessing. Thank you

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. Very large discussion.