I take a controversial position on this topic.
Excessive leaves can inhibit flower growth because they harbor humidity and crowd the flowers, not because the flowers themselves need direct light.
@ExperimentGreen made a valuable point about taking it easy on the defoliation.
Provided you have vertical space, near the end of the veg stage, consider moving your light higher (or plant lower) to induce stretch, exposing bud sites to air and room to grow. Defoliate the lower leaves that are stacked upon one another.
Does this work? It doesn’t not work, meaning my results are inconclusive. It appears to work, but I am not conducting clinical trials here.
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