Is It Good To Defoliate Yellow Leaves?

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Lethidox

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the bottom leaves on my plant are yellowing only 3 leaves and im highly guessing due to lack of light ( it's a pretty bushy plant and those leaves were shaded entirely )

would this cause any issues? or is it more beneficial? i already pulled them off figured what use they have if they are yellow.

or is it simply better to just let them shrivel up and die naturally still attached?
 
crimsonecho

crimsonecho

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the bottom leaves on my plant are yellowing only 3 leaves and im highly guessing due to lack of light ( it's a pretty bushy plant and those leaves were shaded entirely )

would this cause any issues? or is it more beneficial? i already pulled them off figured what use they have if they are yellow.

or is it simply better to just let them shrivel up and die naturally still attached?

Plucking them is better. Dead leaves decay and gets colonized by many strains of fungi.
 
3 balls

3 balls

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Plucking them is better. Dead leaves decay and gets colonized by many strains of fungi.
Semi-related. You have mentioned extreme defoliation in the past and are a fan or at least have an interest in the subject. Any chance you could point us towards any favorite threads about it or post about it when you have a chance? I didn't find anything super helpful when I searched.
 
crimsonecho

crimsonecho

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Semi-related. You have mentioned extreme defoliation in the past and are a fan or at least have an interest in the subject. Any chance you could point us towards any favorite threads about it or post about it when you have a chance? I didn't find anything super helpful when I searched.

No i’m actually not a supporter of extreme defoliation. As you may remember i was doing a thread on it. Conducting a limited experiment. Then they started flowering under 18/6, i mean there were calyxes and trichomes forming everywhere, so experiment was cut short (didn’t want to lose my only clones for these strains :)). Under 24 hrs on they went back to veg. But i’ll say this, in that experiment, the heavily defoliated one was not any better than the control or the lightly defoliated group. So no i’m not a supporter of extreme defoliation. But i’ve seen it being done, sadly, i don’t remember where it was :D if i stumble upon any i’ll let you know.
 
xavier7995

xavier7995

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@3 balls you could google up schwazzing, i believe thats the name they give it. I go back and forth, i found it to help a bunch if you have plants jammed in with bad airflow. If you are not in that situation, not sure if something that extreme is worthwhile. I didnt see a big gain per plant, but it made it possible to get a much denser canopy so you can juice yields a bit.
 
OldSmokie76

OldSmokie76

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I always pluck the leaves that are naturally yellowing. As far as extreme defoliation, I typically approach each plant with the idea that light source creates a sweet spot. Anything outside this zone does not receive proper light and will rob your plants of available nutrients. Generally speaking, the lower 25/30% of the plant can be cleaned out entirely. Leaves and secondary shoots that aren't extended vertically into the sweet zone of light exposure and penetration. This is commonly referred to as lollipopping. Sticks below and the candy on top. As the plant progresses, remove any leaves which may shade out decent budding sites. Or you may wish to tuck the larger fan leaves under branches to expose all the goodies. Depending on your pruning and training regiment a little defoliation can go a long way. I like to remove the majority of fan leaves the last couple days before chop. Typically buds are dense and ripe. Like to allow as much air around them.
 
3 balls

3 balls

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@3 balls you could google up schwazzing, i believe thats the name they give it. I go back and forth, i found it to help a bunch if you have plants jammed in with bad airflow. If you are not in that situation, not sure if something that extreme is worthwhile. I didnt see a big gain per plant, but it made it possible to get a much denser canopy so you can juice yields a bit.
Yes, I'm familiar with schwazzing, the photos I've seen from that silly $500 book. I've never been brave enough myself. I'm not afraid to strategically pluck blockers throughout though.
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

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i defoilate 2 weeks before flip,up skirt it about 8in from bottom,then when i flip they grow back hahahah,but in mean time of stretch i can get light closer to plants and damn near stop the stretch with the lights plus have breathing room for them in my 2x4x7 tent,weather it does better or worse i cant tell any difrence really,one thing for sure them big ass fan leaves gone bring light to the whole plant,just my 2cent
 
JWM2

JWM2

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There’s a time and place to defoliate but ripping off fan leaves willy nilly is asking for trouble. If they block bud sites then sure. Otherwise I leave em be.
 
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Lethidox

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i leave my leaves on usually and plan to do the same with this grow instead of trying to lollipop it. possibly my 3rd grow i plan to lollipop 2/3 of the plants and compare to 1 plant. this grow though it's hard 2 are stacking like indica's and 1 is just going off on it's own like crazy.

this grow im just testing different training techniques. LST mainly but tried super cropping not a huge fan of it personally will give it another try in the future. my dad loves to super crop though. thats what i like about this hobby i don't need to ask random strangers for updates on their plants constantly some i do and it's good to compare grows and techniques/skill levels but not many seem very dedicated to keeping in touch on a weekly basis and most people i meet are not at my level. they have better skills then me and nicer plants/growing conditions so can't compare much
 

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