Cannabis defoliation (The Basics) by Aqua Man

[Aqua Man]

So let me explain defoliation in a way that will allow you to know how and when to defoliate. This is basic and wont include crop steering methods. You need to get a good base understanding and practice first imo before going all ham on advanced techniques. This is for i door plants only. Outdoor plants have very few reasons to even think about defoliating

Reasons for defoliation:

1. Airflow, this is to allow the leaves to transpire (breathe) well. This is super important through the entire grow. Each strain will have a different leaf to bud ratio and some strains need more then others.

2. To remove dead and unhealthy leaves that may attract pests or infections.

3. To remove older leaves no longer photosynthesizing as efficiently. As leaves get older and bigger they become less efficient. New growth is far more efficient at photosynthesis.

Now with those basics you MUST understand that its overall plant photosynthesis that matters, not just each leaf itself.

So stripping all of the older large fan leaves may seem like a good idea but its not.

Light spectrums given off not only have efficiency of the fixtures to take into account but also the plants efficiency at absorbing and converting the photons of each spectrum into energy the plant uses.

Without going to much into it Particularly green penetrates the most and while its considered an inefficient spectrum for photosynthesis at high light intensity it actually becomes the most efficient, in large part due to its penetration into the canopy increasing OVERALL plant photosynthesis…. Which also need to be considered when defoliating.

Which leaves to remove during defoliation in order of importance

1. Leaves that are dead, dying or infected.

2. Leaves that are resting on other leaves or pots etc. (largest one first) this is a common cause of infection.

3. Large older fan leaves that are blocking newer more photosynthetic growth.

4. Leaves far down in the canopy not receiving adequate light. This includes bud sites that will underdevelope.

4. Leaves far down in the canopy restricting air movement that carries away very humid air produced by plant transpiration.

5. Fan leaves growing in towards the middle of the plant tend to restrict airflow and receive little to no light so evaluating those is a good idea.

Remember while defoliating your goal is to accomplish above listed while maximizing OVERALL plant photosynthesis so dont go stripping your plant bare and letting wasted light through to the ground as some do unless you know what you are doing and the reason you are doing it.

Aqua

 

[tobh]

so dont go stripping your plant bare and letting wasted light through to the ground as some do unless you know what you are doing and the reason you are doing it.

Aqua

i feel like this line is calling me and @Dirtbag out great write up on a highly contentious topic bud!

 

[Aqua Man]

i feel like this line is calling me and @Dirtbag out great write up on a highly contentious topic bud!

Absolutely its is cause you mothers fucker know whats up and why… ima add that crop steering link to the bottom of that post as a follow up to basic. Not just because i want to learn about it from you either lol

 

[Aqua Man]

Hey @tobh i confused the crop steering with defol… you all wanna do an advanced one i can link and pin?

 

[tobh]

Sure, I can start drafting something up and getting DB's input given he has more experience with it, and got the technique "from the horse's mouth," per se. I just rode by the seat of my plants last run, first time going so aggressive.

One clarification that might be worthwhile in this article is defoliation is predominantly used indoors, almost no outdoor grower I've spoke with does it outdoors.

 

[Aqua Man]

Sure, I can start drafting something up and getting DB's input given he has more experience with it, and got the technique "from the horse's mouth," per se. I just rode by the seat of my plants last run, first time going so aggressive.

One clarification that might be worthwhile in this article is defoliation is predominantly used indoors, almost no outdoor grower I've spoke with does it outdoors.

Great point and absolutely agree… no need to defoliate outdoors Mother Nature is far more accomplished than us mortals.

Added brother

 

[Mr.GreenthumbOG]

Good info @Aqua Man, I think most indoor growers do varying levels of defol, some way heavier than others, but once you get an eye for what needs to go, and what should be left, the practice makes sense.
Different opinions on the when to defoliate.
I’m in the camp that likes a good plucking 3-5 days before flip, and then another at around day 21, when budset is complete.
Also. A few leaves here and there when tucking leaves becomes too much.

 

[Aqua Man]

Good info @Aqua Man, I think most indoor growers do varying levels of defol, some way heavier than others, but once you get an eye for what needs to go, and what should be left, the practice makes sense.
Different opinions on the when to defoliate.
I’m in the camp that likes a good plucking 3-5 days before flip, and then another at around day 21, when budset is complete.
Also. A few leaves here and there when tucking leaves becomes too much.

Yeah imo much depends on genetics but im right along the same lines as you are… but i have not delved into the world of crop steering much

 

[Mr.GreenthumbOG]

Yeah imo much depends on genetics but im right along the same lines as you are… but i have not delved into the world of crop steering much

I’m a “dirt” grower, so the definition is slightly different.
But growing cannabis indoors is technically crop steering, by adjusting temperatures at different stages, ppfd, and targeted feedings at certain ratios, essentially it is crop steering.
The defol is an element of crop steering, every action creates a reaction

 

[SSHZ]

There are 2 excellent places to find out how to do this properly.......first is a podcast by Irie Seeds Rasta Jeff. It's excellent. The second is on the Ethos website, it's also very good with good detail. I mentioned both places on the farm previously too. i've also discussed it in my threads on the farm and RIU. To add, I've also noticed a reduction in humidity, which can also be beneficial indoors.

 

[Aqua Man]

There are 2 excellent places to find out how to do this properly.......first is a podcast by Irie Seeds Rasta Jeff. It's excellent. The second is on the Ethos website, it's also very good with good detail. I mentioned both places on the farm previously too. i've also discussed it in my threads on the farm and RIU. To add, I've also noticed a reduction in humidity, which can also be beneficial.

Your absolutely right on the humidity… i have advised that to many in the past who have underrated air exchange. Feel more then free to toss those link in here man. The more information the better

 

[SSHZ]

Here's the Ethos article......

Defoliation, Lollipopping & Cleaning Up Your Plants — E T H O S

www.ethosgenetics.com

 

[SSHZ]

And the link to the podcast, but not sure if or how it will work thru this link......

#732 Defoliation

Check out the IRIE GENETICS Website! <a href="http://www.iriegenetics.com">www.iriegenetics.com</a> Visit Seeds Here Now! <a href="https://seedsherenow.com/product-category/breeders/irie-genetics/">https://seedsherenow.com/product-category/breeders/irie-genetics/</a> Support the show on Patreon...

player.fm

 

[SSHZ]

Jeff likes to hear himself talk, so he does get longwinded at times. The Ethos link may be a better starting point.

 

[Aqua Man]

Jeff likes to hear himself talk, so he does get longwinder at times. The Ethos link may be a better starting point.

Thanks a bunch @SSHZ

 

[Mad Max]

With these leds ,you sure gotta defol more.most of the time I think I’ve taken too much off but a week later you wouldn’t think they were even touched.kills many birds defoliating..

 

[Observer]

Thanks for keeping the knowledge coming & updated

 

[Coco Lopez]

Awesome info and thanks much for all the knowledge to the dome. This is exactly where I'm at with my grows and really needed this

 

[TSD]

One clarification that might be worthwhile in this article is defoliation is predominantly used indoors, almost no outdoor grower I've spoke with does it outdoors.

Probably for the most part, but I defoliate outdoors for several reasons. I used to be more conservative with it, but I'm switching sides these last couple years after personally seeing the benefits and beginning to scrog.

Firstly, I'm scrogging, so eventually everything below the scrog will get stripped... shave the legs as they say. For now as they have not stretched yet, I'll leave them, because many of those lower branches will pop up and make me a nice bud, but the bottom of those lanky branches will get stripped. Fans that won't cooperate with where I'm training branches to go will get snipped, having them smashed into the scrog screen is not helping anything. They get a day to flip around and move or they gots to go.

Secondly, I try to keep things chemical free, so pests are part of life. I do preventative spray, but a lot of the leaf munchers don't care aboutnon chemical sprays. I do physically squash many like the Japanese beetles I currently have. But leaves get chomped... and I usually remove them. I don't want shredded leaves letting in other pathogens and I don't want the plant wasting energy to repair a leaf when they grow a ridiculous amount of leaves outside.

Thirdly, airflow. I live in a climate that has heavy dew basically every morning, especially in fall during flower. I don't want leaves laying on top of each other because that's just a breeding ground for mold. I want them all to be able to be blown off with the leaf blower if possible.

Fourthly... is that a word? Anyway, they like the torment. They always have a push of growth after a hair cut. I like to do it before a feeding because I feel like that must help push the growth and heal the damage. You'll never see me strip a plant of all fans because that's just dumb, but again there are TONS of leaves, I can remove a lot before it even looks like I did anything.

Lastly, just as they die naturally. I'd rather the plant suck a few leaves dry then over feed which is harder to fix... and like I said, no shortage of leaves under the sun. After they start to bud I only remove damaged or dying leaves, all the shaping of the plant is done by that point and we all know you shouldn't shock them as they make buds. Maintaining removal of dead shit is VERY important outside because one little leaf or bit of debris falling on and staying on a bud WILL cause mold eventually. Nearing harvest there are leaves yellowing and dying constantly because I've stopped feeding. I'd say I remove at least 10 dead leaves per plant every day at that point. When I know the end is nigh, I basically start stripping fans and live trimming as they stand because I wet trim and it makes that process easier.
So that's why I, as an outdoor grower, defoliate. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

[Amnesia]

Your absolutely right on the humidity… i have advised that to many in the past who have underrated air exchange. Feel more then free to toss those link in here man. The more information the better

I read advice recently that recommended synchronizing defoliation with watering. My thought when I read it was that the plant would have a better ability to repair itself, but now I see that defoliation can affect the humidity in the tent, too, depending on the size of the plant(s) and the tent, of course.

 

[TSD]

I read advice recently that recommended synchronizing defoliation with watering. My thought when I read it was that the plant would have a better ability to repair itself, but now I see that defoliation can affect the humidity in the tent, too, depending on the size of the plant(s) and the tent, of course.

I've always tried to do any training around watering and feeding, LST because stalks filled with moisture are more bendy and less likely to break, and a feeding because it just seems logical that they'd like some extra food to heal after toppingor defol. I do organics which aren't available right away so I try to do it at least a few days ahead, or just do a foliar feed of somethingif it doesn't work out that way. No science behind my methods usually, just seems to be what makes sense in my stoner brain.

 

[Amnesia]

I had a friend who liked to say that most things involve a two-step process: "Figure out what you need to do and then do it." It's true for growing weed—figure out what the plants need and then give it to them.

After reading this thread this morning, I visited my two Black Jack plants that are flowering. I was removing fan leaves to allow more light to the lower parts of the plants. As I was clipping off leaves, I started wondering if there is any advice for removing large fan leaves near the buds. I removed many of them, but began to wonder if I was doing it right.

 

[SSgrower]

As stated above, this is a practice many styles vary. I was taught to defoliate the big fan leaves & make "passage" for light also remove lower growth that won't reach near the top so the energy is channeled to the bud sites. Seen many shows and opinions. Each to his own? Cheers @aquaman SSgrower

 

[MysticEpipedon]

Jeff likes to hear himself talk, so he does get longwinded at times. The Ethos link may be a better starting point.

For me, the most useful podcasts Rasta Jeff puts out are the ones where he specifically talks about one or two of his strains, what to expect when growing them -- their quirks, the phenos and scents. The rest is usually kind of basic, for newbies.

 

[BISHB0SH]

DOES DRY BACKS INCREASE FROST ON THE NUGS/

 

[Aqua Man]

DOES DRY BACKS INCREASE FROST ON THE NUGS/

IMO nope. Now i do believe crop steering plays a role but personally bot in the number of trichs but rather the cannabinoid content of them.

I have nothing factual to base this on though