popcorn buds aren't as much of a problem outdoors, as the whole length of the plant gets deaply penetrated by the sun, indoor grows have these buds because the light will only penetrate a few feet into the canopy. some of the strongest sativas in the world are completely what you would call popcorn. also outdoor weed gets picked premature many times in canada and midwest because of frost, premature buds are usually pretty airy as well, i don't see why anyone would want to eliminate them outdoors, as they can still be made into hash, many a harvest have i ended up selling too much and ended up digging through my big bag of leaves for some greatly needed popcorn buds i cut off.
your plant will yield better overall if you let it grow the way it evolved to over the millions and millions of years, but if you are deathly afraid of them, you could cut off all smaller lower branches durring flowering that arent producing much, but some is better than none if you ask me
