Seems the answer to the defoliation question is YES...BUT
These results were gained from various plant studies including tomato, which is similar in many ways to the cannabis plant.
I read several of the study abstracts and the general agreement is that SOME defoliation results in more flowers/fruit BUT there's a level of defoliation that results in less flowers/fruit.
"The experiment comprised five levels of defoliation viz., 0 (control), 3, 6, 9 and 12 leaves defoliation out of 16 leaves
Fruit yield: Defoliations had significant effect on fruit yield per plant. Result revealed that fruit yield increased over control (zero leaves cut) up to 6 leaves defoliated plants and thereafter decreased significantly.
The higher fruit yield was recorded in control (zero), 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants and the highest fruit weight was recorded in 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants (1.70 kg per plant).
In contrast, the lowest fruit yield was recorded in 12 leaves defoliated plants (1.19 kg per plant).
The result indicates that tomato plant can tolerant up to 6 leaves loss during flowering. The fruit yield per plant increased under 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants was due to greater number of fruits per plant and larger fruit size compared to control."
These results were gained from various plant studies including tomato, which is similar in many ways to the cannabis plant.
I read several of the study abstracts and the general agreement is that SOME defoliation results in more flowers/fruit BUT there's a level of defoliation that results in less flowers/fruit.
"The experiment comprised five levels of defoliation viz., 0 (control), 3, 6, 9 and 12 leaves defoliation out of 16 leaves
Fruit yield: Defoliations had significant effect on fruit yield per plant. Result revealed that fruit yield increased over control (zero leaves cut) up to 6 leaves defoliated plants and thereafter decreased significantly.
The higher fruit yield was recorded in control (zero), 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants and the highest fruit weight was recorded in 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants (1.70 kg per plant).
In contrast, the lowest fruit yield was recorded in 12 leaves defoliated plants (1.19 kg per plant).
The result indicates that tomato plant can tolerant up to 6 leaves loss during flowering. The fruit yield per plant increased under 3 and 6 leaves defoliated plants was due to greater number of fruits per plant and larger fruit size compared to control."
