Defoliation - Where do you stand?

P

pete2

Well-Known Member
I'm for it ! Way back when I would cut all the fan leaves about every 10 to 15 days. That allows the lower parts of the plant to get sunshine that it deserves and gives the plant time to recover. I couldn't compare it gram to gram, but it seems to me that I was getting a better harvest than the others I knew that wouldn't use defoliation.
So that is my thoughts, what are yours?:tokin::tokin:

PS. I thought I opened this thread in the Grows forum, Don't know why it is here
 
Total newb who said he wouldn't, but did. I cut them as they lost luster, blocked buds, died off, and in the end I think it helped my plants fend off mildew and mold. Plus it made them look awesome and hopefully will lessen the labor of harvesting.
 
I've done the test on a few grows, didn't touch on a couple of grows and stripped on a couple. Results, stripping gave me a better yield. Now for the na Sayers, I have 2 small rooms, 1300 long X 700 wide (cm) 3 lady's in each room. I do it to let more light through. The times I've tested not touching, everything under the fan leaves was thrown out. I grow in coco, 600wt HPs. I would guess another 2 - 3 ounces with defoliating. My 2 cents. Cheers.
 
I take them off as well! Others will say dont do it as they feed the plant. However, if im giving expensive nutrients to the plant from the early stages of growth, its totally fine to remove them. For an inside grow you just about have to remove them otherwise around 40% of the plant wont receive the light it needs to produce flowers later. Regardless of the lights you use for an indoor grow one thing will never change. That being that there are NO LIGHTS AS GOOD OR BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN! So in an outdoor grow I dont remove them but inside by all means remove them especially if youre feeding them good nutrients, now grow on out of here, LOL.
 
I agree with JimmyV! growing under lights never replicates a good outside grow when it comes to light penetration/saturation. That requires adapting different techniques to compensate. So trimming inside and leaving the outside plants with it's fan leafs is sound advice!
 
Ye when i first started growing my own i was really anti defol as it defeated a lot of ideas based on my own experience being involved in the horticultural trade.

Now being a soil/compost grower i don't like defol in veg as it seems to slow growth done whilst vegging but with hydroponics & the faster growth rates which can be achieved i don't see why not.



But i do see the point of defol during flowering as it may reduce mold problems with in the canopy & better air flow to which can increase yield by x%...
 
JimmyV said:
I take them off as well! Others will say dont do it as they feed the plant. However, if im giving expensive nutrients to the plant from the early stages of growth, its totally fine to remove them. For an inside grow you just about have to remove them otherwise around 40% of the plant wont receive the light it needs to produce flowers later. Regardless of the lights you use for an indoor grow one thing will never change. That being that there are NO LIGHTS AS GOOD OR BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN! So in an outdoor grow I dont remove them but inside by all means remove them especially if youre feeding them good nutrients, now grow on out of here, LOL.
Click to expand...

The leaves don't feed the plant they process all the various things the plants need to grow. They absorb the CO2 and use the carbon to build tissues and make sugars while tossing out the O2. The water and nutrients drawn up from the roots combine in the leaves and using energy from the light they go to work doing hundreds of different chemical reactions to grow the plant. Reduce the leaves reduces the output of all those little factories.

Old or yellowing leaves can be removed no problem but massive defoliation just forces the plant to work extra hard to get back to where it was. Taking off a lot of the big fan leaves after the stretch is done is a good idea but all the smaller fan leaves are still doing a lot of work feeding the new bud growth.

:peace:
 
All strains are not equal but some may share common characteristics !

I normally choose high flower to leaf ratio strains these days as i don't like trimming & saves a fair amount of time to which may suggest a lower leaf count, with in my own experience i would only do a defol towards the later stages of flowering to help expose the lower sites to more light.

But the more leafy strains may require a defol twice after stretch & the latter stage towards end flowering & lets just say 3 weeks after flowering begins & before it ends as an example.


% wise off defol well an individual case to how leafy ya bush is but may suggest enough to expose other areas to light perhaps 25% at best for first defol as the leafs are still doing a lot of work but could go more in the latter stage of flowering as the bud leaf will pick up the work.
 
It might be the thing to do for indoors, but outside U have much more lumens with the sun, the big old leaves naturally fall off
I bend them in different positions all the time, exposing other areas....
It fills out quite nicely, the old leaves I take off
No topping at all....
 
I use to go pretty hard and noticed it slowing the plant down. Now i just take any of the time
wasting stuff from the bottom as it grows,then later on if theres any leaves blocking light to anything,
they go.

I dont just go mental now and take leaves of for the sake of doing it.

Plants seem to be happier too from what ive found.
 
Just defoliated a few of them. They are in a greenhouse about 4-5 weeks in. Stretch is over. I cleaned a few out real good and a few others only the biggest shade leaves from the top half of the plants. We will see. All the smaller leaves have been left. Some shade leaves and all the sugar leaves are still as they were.

Until now only yellowing leaves have been removed. I believe in defoliation but trying to dial in the best time for quality and quantity, in that order.
 
Hi all just noticed this topic and was wondering if defoliation can cause infections what could lead to bud rot? I say this because just recently it happened to me but I'm not sure if it was because the buds was like monsters or down to over defoliating I'd appreciate any help on this


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
if your pinching, just keep your hands clean and try not to tear "down"
the stem. Keep your scissors/pruners/clippers clean and if youre taking cuttings
sterilise everything.

You should be right.
 
I just cut alot of leaves off mine she was getting to bushy so far i didnt notice nothing i guess time will tell but i did notice the growing never stopped at all im about 3 weeks in flower and shes still growing

Sent from my 6045O using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
Grnwzrd said:
if your pinching, just keep your hands clean and try not to tear "down"
the stem. Keep your scissors/pruners/clippers clean and if youre taking cuttings
sterilise everything.

You should be right.
Click to expand...

Thank you I'll try not to tear down the stalk that's happened quit abit
.


Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 

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