Jimster
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Tomatoes don't typically go thru a vegetative stage and then revert to a flowering stage, so some of the comparisons are true, while some are not. With that being said, I have grown for the vast majority of my life. I am not a commercial grower and I don't grow more than 5 or 6 plants on avg. When it comes to buds, from my uneducated observations, plants don't sequester nutrients from high light growth to areas of low light energy, namely the lower branches. Regardless of where I take my buds from... top or bottom, the biggest influence on their size is light exposure. If it is the main bud, if it doesn't get strong light, it isn't going to grow any better than a spindly lower branch, and lower branches can grow like a tree if they get the strong, direct light that the tops get.
Removing some leaves or branches to benefit other previously covered bud spaces will increase the yields as it allows for better light penetration. The bottom branches die off if they aren't producing enough energy to keep them going, I have never witnessed any benefits from removing the lower growth. I think the distinction between defoliation and selective leaf plucking is a matter of degree, as was mentioned earlier. Defoliation doesn't increase yields, but selective pruning or leaf removal does. To make a blanket statement that removing all of these bottom leaves and branches benefits the plant in a significant way, I can't agree based on my experience. Please take note that I said "In my experience", so I don't piss off any true scholars out there.
Removing some leaves or branches to benefit other previously covered bud spaces will increase the yields as it allows for better light penetration. The bottom branches die off if they aren't producing enough energy to keep them going, I have never witnessed any benefits from removing the lower growth. I think the distinction between defoliation and selective leaf plucking is a matter of degree, as was mentioned earlier. Defoliation doesn't increase yields, but selective pruning or leaf removal does. To make a blanket statement that removing all of these bottom leaves and branches benefits the plant in a significant way, I can't agree based on my experience. Please take note that I said "In my experience", so I don't piss off any true scholars out there.