Defoliation - removing fan leaves for higher yield

added pics (not mine)

In short, this means removing fan leaves after the stretch ends (around 2 weeks after 12/12.) This allows more light to hit the middle and bottom of the plant. The "fan leaves" you are looking to remove are the big ones that shade smaller leaves or bud sites below them. Some people believe that removing leaves stunts growth but I have never experienced this.

day 16 flowering BEFORE


day 16 flowering AFTER


day 20


day 25


day 28


day 32


day 40



Over at icmag there's a popular sticky regarding defoliation as a technique to get higher yields. I was skeptical but the feedback on the thread (with pics) has been very positive.

So far I noticed some things.

1) Removing fan leaves does not harm the plant. They grow back within 5-7 days.

2) More light gets to the bottom of the plant, and so the smaller normally popcorn buds grow dense.

3) there is a lot more airflow and humidity drops.

HOW IT'S DONE

Wait 12-14 days after inducing 12/12, until the stretch has slowed down. Removing leaves before this may cause the stretch to be more than usual.

Begin by removing any and ALL fan leaves that are shading any other leaf. Basically, remove any big leaves blocking light or bud sites.

Keep doing this until there is nothing being shaded. Your plant will look naked, with bud sites and small leaves and stems, no fan leaves.

Place the plants back under 12/12. Your first defoliation will result in removing A LOT of fan leaves!

Check up on the plants every week, removing any new leaves that are shading areas of the plant.


WHY IT WORKS

We don't really know. A lot of people claim that the leaves are "solar panels" which create energy the plant needs for bud, but the truth is that this is just a guess and in experiments (over at icmag), removing fan leaves did not slow down growth, nor did it reduce yield (it increased it in almost all cases.)

It might be that removing a big fan leaf lets light go down to a lot of other smaller leaves, thereby increasing the light the plant is getting because smaller leaves have a higher surface area than bigger fan leaves.

The leaves store nutrients, but indoors, we provide the plant with ample nutrients and so storage is not required as it would be in nature.

The plant may focus on bud production in flower, rather than focusing energy on making more fan leaves (which doesn't make sense if the plant feels it's about to die.)

FAQ

Should I do this in veg? Yes, you should begin doing this when the plant is about 6-8" tall. This helps because subsequent defoliation becomes easier and quicker. Also, in my experience (and others), you may do it anytime during flower, though you would get the most benefit at the beginning of flower (after the stretch, so 12-14 days into flowering.)

Will potency be affected? No.

Will yield always increase? No. This depends on your lights and how you trained your plants. The basic idea is to have as much light as possible hitting as many bud sites and small leaves as possible. Outdoors, the sun does not suffer from the same shortcomings as indoor lighting (the further you get from the light, the less lumens you get, at a square inverse.)

Can I do this outdoors? You may but it probably won't help. See comment above.

Will the plant die if I remove leaves? No. Some strains may not like being defoliated but I have not come across any in my own experience nor in anyone else's on the original defoliation thread.

Are there other benefits? Yes! Defoliation helps reduce moisture the plant is giving off, meaning your dehumidifier needs to work less, and it also increases air flow meaning better temps, better air exchange, and less susceptibility to pests and disease that thrive in high humidity/stale air.

Another benefit is that there is far less trimming required after harvest!

I've gone through the original thread, asked a lot of questions and did my own experiments. Reply with any questions you might have, and I advise you to try removing some fan leaves from 1-2 plants just for testing. This technique is valuable and I would like to see it spread away from icmag and into the rest of the scene.

Peace & smoke

update: see this RollItUp member's view on defoliation:
http://www.rollitup.org/advanced-mar...ml#post4441952

Originally Posted by accountant

Over at icmag there's a popular sticky regarding defoliation as a technique to get higher yields. I was skeptical but the feedback on the thread (with pics) has been very positive.

So far I noticed 2 things.

1) Removing fan leaves does not harm the plant. They grow back within 5-7 days.

2) More light gets to the bottom of the plant, and so the smaller normally popcorn buds grow dense.

HOW IT'S DONE

Wait 12-14 days after inducing 12/12, until the stretch has slowed down. Removing leaves before this may cause the stretch to be more than usual.

Begin by removing any and ALL fan leaves that are shading any other leaf. Basically, remove any big leaves blocking light or bud sites.

Keep doing this until there is nothing being shaded. Your plant will look naked, with bud sites and small leaves and stems, no fan leaves.

Place the plants back under 12/12. Your first defoliation will result in removing A LOT of fan leaves!

Check up on the plants every week, removing any new leaves that are shading areas of the plant.


WHY IT WORKS

We don't really know. A lot of people claim that the leaves are "solar panels" which create energy the plant needs for bud, but the truth is that this is just a guess and in experiments (over at icmag), removing fan leaves did not slow down growth, nor did it reduce yield (it increased it in almost all cases.)

It might be that removing a big fan leaf lets light go down to a lot of other smaller leaves, thereby increasing the light the plant is getting because smaller leaves have a higher surface area than bigger fan leaves.

The leaves store nutrients, but indoors, we provide the plant with ample nutrients and so storage is not required as it would be in nature.

The plant may focus on bud production in flower, rather than focusing energy on making more fan leaves (which doesn't make sense if the plant feels it's about to die.)

FAQ

Should I do this in veg? Yes, you should begin doing this when the plant is about 6-8" tall. This helps because subsequent defoliation becomes easier and quicker. Also, in my experience (and others), you may do it anytime during flower, though you would get the most benefit at the beginning of flower (after the stretch, so 12-14 days into flowering.)

Will potency be affected? No.

Will yield always increase? No. This depends on your lights and how you trained your plants. The basic idea is to have as much light as possible hitting as many bud sites and small leaves as possible. Outdoors, the sun does not suffer from the same shortcomings as indoor lighting (the further you get from the light, the less lumens you get, at a square inverse.)

Can I do this outdoors? You may but it probably won't help. See comment above.

Will the plant die if I remove leaves? No. Some strains may not like being defoliated but I have not come across any in my own experience nor in anyone else's on the original defoliation thread.

Are there other benefits? Yes! Defoliation helps reduce moisture the plant is giving off, meaning your dehumidifier needs to work less, and it also increases air flow meaning better temps, better air exchange, and less susceptibility to pests and disease that thrive in high humidity/stale air.

Another benefit is that there is far less trimming required after harvest!

I've gone through the original thread, asked a lot of questions and did my own experiments. Reply with any questions you might have, and I advise you to try removing some fan leaves from 1-2 plants just for testing. This technique is valuable and I would like to see it spread away from icmag and into the rest of the scene.

Peace & smoke

update: see this RollItUp member's view on defoliation:
http://www.rollitup.org/advanced-mar...ml#post4441952

Thanks for the article.. and whatever.

want some advice? Try using side lighting.. It eliminates the need to trim leafs.

Bottom line is, cutting a plant's leaf's off while its still growing.. does stun the plant.

It's counterproductive and slows things down, because the plant has to focus more energy on trying to repair itself.

period..

its not rocket science.. its common sense.

good luck.

peace..