Keep or remove

I always remove the first set of branches, the ones that sprout from the node of the first true leaves.........in my long experience, 40 odd years, these branches never really grow as robustly as any subsequent branches and seem to be largely, a waste of time. No need to cut the single bladed leaves off pre-maturely though, wait until they go yellow before removing them. Generally, they die and fall off quite early anyhow.

Why is there an urge to remove things from the plant for no reason? if the branches aren't part of future plans, that's fine to remove. the lowest brnaches do seem to be weak more time than not - even on a smaller grown plant. The plant generally knows better than you when to shed leaves -- in the context of a healthy, competently grown plant. Over-crowded canopies are a self-inflicted user-error mistake that is completely avoidable. While there's usually a need to remove some limited amount of growth, if your methods are sound you'll avoid any major need to do it beyond the minimal. leaves do more than just absorb light. They take in CO2, they store nutrients that you paid for and provided to the plant. REmoving leaves is like mixing up some fertilier then pouring it down the drain. Removing leaves as a percieved benefit is like removing a portion of your lungs and expecting to run a faster 1-mile, lol.

Yeah there not strong enough in my eyes they always go