Quote Originally Posted by latewood
start chopping=stress...which proceeds to make the plant go into repair mode instead of finishing strong=yield suffers.
I get what you're saying, but my rationale has been that when the plant is in flower, I'd rather the plants energy go towards the strong bud regions rather than the weak. If you chop the lower couple of branches, yes you have a wounded plant, but you are also removing weak-budding areas, which (by my theory anyway) redirects energy to the remaining stronger bud regions. Of course I'd only do this if you're using 400W lights, and I could be wrong about everything:-)

The main thing I try to AVOID chopping is the fan leaves. They're not only used in photosynthesis but are also used for energy storage. The plant will drop the leaf when it is no longer needed. I will fold a leaf under, or out of the way of light if its shading the plant too much.


Dboy