Defoliation during flowering

Sure, the difference is nothing grows back. is it causing standing water due to overlapping another leaf? otherwise i'd leave it alone. Light hitting a lower bud site doesn't do what pppl say it does. light hitting local leaves does, but inverse square law is in effect so increased distance from light source is a significantly large factor. The light is significantly less intense with just a small distance difference. so you'd be giving the plant less overall energy than before... you don't want that. less energy = less plant. so, if you think it's a risk of mold or something akin to that.. go for it. leave it if it is ocd or bruh-science motivating you.