@tangie, i don't give a shit if you select an answer, lol - the least important thing is that contest. and, you'll find a lot of people don't beleive what i said, but is in fact true.
fimming is topping. topping is mutilating a portion of the plant to cause auxin to distribute more widely, causing more widely distributed growth. All that happens with a "FIM is that you don't quite cut off the growth tip and what remains can recover and form new axillary branches. You don't need to cut the fan leaves, like you said, so avoid it - just a portion of the growth tip is necessary. It's unpredictable and tough to plan around, so not something i've tried more than a few times for shits and grins. I'm sure if you do it enuogh you can find the point at which you get nearly guaranteed results but wether its 2+1 or 2+2 or 2+3 is maybe less certain (2 axilllary buds that exist plus what comes out of the mutilated growth tip).
training will always be more efficient as far as saving vege time vs pruning growth off. There's no circumventing rate of growth that results from your environemnt. We can spread it out, but we can't change the overall rate too much. is it more efficient growth if spread out? maybe? but i wouldn't assume that. cutting off growth always is wasted resources/time. not saying it isn't useful or good to do, but that is what needs to be balanced when choosing to do so. With that sad i do both. i probably cost myself a 1-3 days of extra vege but it's a better distributed canopy - foundation of canopy anyway.
As far as canopy management, i'd strongly recommend having an end goal/target and working backward from that to compose a strategy to get there. 2.5-3 colas per sq ft will ensure max yield and excellent light penetration while also fully covering the area. FIM'ing is 'neat' to showcase, but not something you can plan around consistently. it takes a little faith because even the first week of flower it's not fully filled in, but it'll get there.
I'm sure i said it already -- cocoforcannabis.com has the best information with the least bro-science corruption. the guides and the dr photon's corner articles are all good. bruce bugbee is also another excellent no-frills source.
IF it sounds like and advertisment with lots of bold promises, it's probably bogus information. "25% greater yield!" bullshit, lol.. unless it's supplementing co2, and even that isn't cost-effective.
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