https://www.autoflower.org/threads/season-3-uks-portal-takes-on-spain-mephisto-and-sweet.61894/
Short and sweet...there is a few rules i use when defoliating
-only defol it she won't tuck or work with her fan leaf fingers cut off. The reason i avoid it a bit is if you miss a leaf stalk the withering stalk can be prone to mold.
- only defoliate leaves that are covering bud site and never defol fan leaves on the exterior of the plant
- try to spread out defoliating to reduce stress, and take a few leaves a day
- keep defol limited on plants quoted to be small by breeders, a few key leaves is okay, but go into defol with a plan and takes leaves that will have a positive impact. If you take leaves that arent shading lower bud sites, then you are making an error.
Many strains will benefit from higher stress techniques like supercropping and defoliating, but it must be done in a proper way for better canopy management. There is 2 reasons to supercrop plants...one is for canopy/height management, and one is for increased nutrient flow to surrounding areas. Not all strains/plants will respond super well to the higher techniques though, but from what i have seen many will!!
So the citrus noir....i grew one before that i root restricted(20 day restriction) and grew untrained. Though she was in more of a crowded area she pulled 50g's dry. I initially thought the topped plant was going to take far longer than the first i grew, but in the end she finished within days of the first one i grew. This doesnt really prove anything though with the genetic variance plant to plant, but i definitely didnt see any diminished harvest on the topped ,cropped one i grew.