Defoliating during flower - day 54

Don't point the fans at the plants, point them at the wall or corner to create a flow or vortex in the tent. directly pointed at them can cause issues. oscillation helps but them fans break down and sometimes catch fire with the really cheep ones. google it if you have not seen it. Buy none oscillation fans or get a good one. I think if you not using any under canopy lighting for the lower bud sites then lollipop it. If not you'll get a bunch of popcorn buds, if you making edibles or hash this is good for that. but bag appeal it is not. Also don't defoliate if it has good airflow. that's the main reason to do it in indoor grows. lack of airflow = rot Good Luck!

It's perfectly safe to defol as long as you don't go overboard. Just remember it's better to have to go back later to remove more than to wish you hadn't removed so many...you can't glue them back on lol. Focus your attention mostly in the middles and work down.

Leave 'em be. Remember, .........less leaves = less energy being made = less potential growth. No need to defoliate "just because". Unless you are having massive problems controlling humidity, I would not defoliate for any other reason.....real or ghetto science. Those older leaves are also providing the plant with a readily available source of pre-made elements that it needs to grow the flowers. No leaves = less available pre-made elements = smaller flowers.......it is that simple!

Yes it is safe to do a little defoliation. Since your tent is so packed full at the moment it would be a very good thing to do at this point to help increase airflow to prevent mold growth. It looks like you may have installed your net a little early, it is fine to have one at that level but I would have put another one in to help support the plant up high. It might be time to raise the lights up a little bit, it looks like the plant grew right up there. As far as humidity during flower, you would want to keep it under 60%. This will help eliminate the potential of mold and mildew. I hope this helps.

You should ( if can ) raise lights, tops are burning. And you should lolipop ( google lolipop weed ) them, unless you want to make bubble hash or oil, all bottoms has 0 chance to develop into something nice and smokable.