Hello my friend
Defoliation involves removing leaves from cannabis plants indoors to increase final yield. Amateur growers should be vigilant when they start to apply this pruning technique. Despite the endless debate between those who advocate this technique and those who denigrate it, there is no reason why an amateur should not try it to see if it suits him or not.
HOW DEFOLIER
Whether you are trimming the leaves or branches of cannabis plants, it is best to use a sterile pruner that is comfortable on hand. Tearing leaves by hand lacks finesse and often results in accidental lying out layers of a stem in addition to the leaf. The main objective of defoliation is to allow better penetration of light and to promote the production of larger heads. Fan leaves that make shade should be removed. Cutting the main stem and/or secondary shoots is not defoliation.
The golden rule when you give your plants a refresh is to start with the largest and widest nourishing leaves, cutting from the bottom up. It is important to remove the leaves strategically and not randomly. Also, think you need to limit your refreshment to approximately 10-20% of the total leaves on your foot. It is very easy to get carried away during pruning and end up with bald plants. Excess leaf size will prevent photosynthesis and paralyze your plants.
WHEN MUST-IL DEFOLIER
It is quite rare to apply defoliation as the only technique to achieve high yield. Leaf size is generally associated with other methods of pruning and paling for better yieldsuch on topping or headleting, FIMming, LST, manifolding, supercropping and ScrOG. Growers using the ScrOG method will need to remove all the lower growths as well as the leaves and stems under the net.
Cannabis plants can be defoliated once they have moved from the seedling phase to the vegetative growth phase. However, it is recommended that hobby growers leave 1 to 2 weeks of vegetative growth to plants before tackling the defoliation of the plant. In addition, some varieties are more sensitive to size than others and will therefore be more stressed by leaf size. Keep a close eye on the behaviour of your plants after pruning. A recovery period of at least 3 to 7 days before defoliation is highly recommended to avoid too much stress on the plants. Growers can also defoliate during the flowering phase, allowing the plant's energy to be concentrated towards the production of heads while limiting shade and excess moisture. However, it is important not to defoliate too late or simply injure your plants unnecessarily.
THE BENEFITS OF DEFOLIATION
Of course, the number one benefit of defoliation is the increased yield potential of this pruning technique for all types of cannabis ranging from photoperiod to autoflowering varieties. It is no secret that flowers that receive more lights become larger and wider than those hidden in the shadow of the leaves. In addition, removing the inner leaves from the bushy plants helps prevent mould threats. Very leafy plants with dense interior foliage will produce a significant amount of popcorn heads. In the worst case, the head branches and the dense heads will succumb to rotting.
If you see drops of water forming on the surface of the leaves, it is high time to think about defoliation. Releasing the lower and middle area of the leaves is a great way to improve air circulation.
DEFOLIATION DISADVANTAGES
Indoor cannabis plants benefit from defoliation for two reasons. The first is because they receive light from a stationary source above them, and the second is because environmental conditions are controlled by the grower and not Mother Nature. Outdoor plants do not gain much, because the if necessary plants are true for them. The sun crosses the sky, illuminating on its way, different portions of the plant from its rise to its sunset.
Outdoor growers do not need to manipulate plants to grow by adopting a flat structure since the sun is infinitely more powerful than any culture lamp and, moreover, it is always moving. Cutting leaves from outdoor plants also makes them more vulnerable to wet conditions and breaks their natural barriers against pests.
Many indoor growers can, and unfortunately, often reduce the final yield because of defoliation done at the wrong time and/or excessive. Cutting seedlings is not recommended and often breeds dwarf plants. Scalping mature plants is even worse, and instead of getting long head branches, you'll probably get even less flowers. Similarly, pruning diseased or unhealthy plants at any time of growth may cripple growth rather than encourage the formation of dense flowers.
May the force be with you 💪