I think the issue lies with the fact that an auto flower's clock is predetermined...there is "X" amount of time and energy spent on vegetation and when that clock is up, it's headed to flowering... So if the time and energy is spent healing a wound to it's primary stalk, it isn't spent elsewhere on new growth. With a photo, you can stretch veg with light cycle and spend the extra time to heal and then get on with what you were doing. Not so with the auto.