I have a friend who defoliates heavily at flip and again at the end of the main stretch after budset. He says its important to use a fast growing media like coco or rockwool, ideally with very high ppfd and Co2, and to cold temp stress them for a couple days after the second stripping. Just by 5 degrees celcius or so, doesnt have to be a lot, but a few days of cooler weather to slow metabolism while the plant recovers from the defol.
He does very well with hardly a handfull of leaves in the room
Pretty much the practice i follow too. At the end of veg or the first couple days of flower and then again when i guess the strech is done day 21.
Im a first generation farmer in my past life, 320 acres of corn wheat soybeans and specialty beans. Kidney etc. To be a Google Warrior and compare defoliation between soybeans and cannabis is off the wall. Soybeans being a legume. As a farmer and Christian I'm well aware of how perfect things are in nature but now I've brought them in from nature and doing my thing.
To twist things around a bit, show me a scientific study where defoliation hurt the yield.
Like I've said before i do it mainly because it makes harvest so much easier. Trim bowl and all ..... beating the crap out of all those trichomes. (Ive got lots of trichomes and its all personal aka not for sale. Mostly I'm pressing rosin, and smoking very little flower of late.
Yield was wet that i quoted and that included the tote i weight it in, not quite the 10 lbs per plant you mention but still a good 2 lbs dry. ( my personal best.
I hit 1 lb per plant as my best at my last property . This is a new room to me 13x16x12 split ac, active fresh air intake. No co2.
This is maybe my 10 or 12 grow in the past 6 years so i would follow your friends advice over mine because as i said im flying mostly by the seat of my plants. And i like growing trees .
