Can I defoliate?

leave at least a leaf or 2 at any one node. buds don't need light. leaves need light. light on a terminal bud will prevent stretch of course. the nuances of that i'd bet are still tied to the leaves and not anything to do with reproductive parts of the plant. i only say this to help get a better perpective on cause and effect. Airflow will most certainly improve the size of your buds. Light penetration to local leaves will definteyl improve your buds deeper into canopy. if you reduce total energy intake, it will only hurt your plant. So, don't go hog-wild and don't take off mor ethan 1/3rd at any 1 time. AH! 2 weeks from harvest.. i'd leave them. If you want to save some time trimming, do it the day or 2 before so you don't impact photosynthesis so much. Again, without leaves, the plant can't produce much without energy production. Development would nearly stop. You could stagger harvest, if you want the lower realms to develop more, but you'll need some healthy leaves to power that too. Cut off top colas, let rest ripen another few days.