Having read all the opinions on this thread, I’ve concluded, it would be easier, and more scientific, if everyone just agreed with me, 
Happy 4th of July everyone, God bless America!
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But, but, but…! So true, your post made me laugh this morning, lol.
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intuitively this seems right. so, defoliating from bottom up, only defoliating the leaves that, for example, do 50 percent of the light blocking, and never more than 30% of the plant at once?
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I love the way you think about this, esp the fat/happy analogy. The sheer drives to reproduce makes sense to me intuitively.
Is there a point at which (somewhere early in flower, for example) it won’t regrow the leaves but simply draw on what’s in the soil only? Or the leaves that are left?
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this seems like a really good strategy to me. thank you!
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Seems like a consensus is shaping up to be similar to what you are saying: with photos only, only inside plants, and only as much as needed for light penetration (as @mongbae is emphasizing).
EDIT: also, it’s gonna work better for some plants, worse for others, and not much at all for some.
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Yeah, like you and @Foreigner said – I did this once too and it did parcel out the work at little more evenly!
I love this, thanks 
So, “it grows everywhere, it’s easy!” was what my partner said before I started. as a noob, I didn’t really know for sure but my reply was
“We are trying to optimize the grow for some very specific traits!”
Long story short, I won and we got the tent lol
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This may have been addressed already.
This run I did not defoliate
I had to water a lot more than when I do.
Not science but humidity was more in my room
As a result of not defoliating it seems to me
As well.
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i do think @ifish brought this up!
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You understood perfectly! Generally saying you can remove all bottom leaves and branches that receive below 5% of light on the canopy
Oh and I can’t say “not more than 30% of trimming” to not give unnecessary stress but with the cultivars i tested (bubba and skunk) they were fine when below 1/3 was trimmed at day 7 of 12/12
Def when trimmed super heavily plant will be stressed. But then this will likely make flower stop stretch faster so can use heavy defoliation as a strategy too
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In some cases (like having high humidity) it is necessary for plant aeration 
, getting rid of larf and letting air flow can also be a good strategy… 
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@George oh yes indeed and that’s a lovely plant😁
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That’s funny. I would say I don’t defoliate, but today I let a plant run out of water and a lot of the leaves wilted. After I watered it, I did remove a bunch of leaves, partially so it would use less water, and partially because some of them wouldn’t ever be the same and I don’t like looking at damaged leaves.
So yeah, when a plant is using too much water, I have been known to defoliate. 
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That’s pretty cool to be able to track like that. Good information to know.
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Ya know, to nobody in particular:
if you really go back and digest this thread, there are answers in here.
are they “neat, clean, easy” answers? no. it is kind of grey sometimes. “it depends.” “some, not all.”
this can FEEL like a non-answer sometimes. but it isn’t.
anyway, this is just my way of marveling at the way sometimes humans can come together to agree on this sort of 180-degree, probably-as-close-as-we-get-for-now answers.
for some reason, i think that acknowledging a “compromise” answer that is mostly true but perhaps not entirely. . .
. . .a “compromise” answer that leaves nobody feeling like the sole victor. . .
. . .is how governing used to work. And I think it’s important to see this, for everybody.
Compromise and negotiation is something the rest of the world has forgotten how to do.
Reminds me of this: “The sound of grumbling and groaning because nobody got exactly what they wanted? that’s the sound of politics working.”
Nobody compromises anymore. It’s win or lose. A blood sport. Which to me is weird, cause actual politics should be pretty effing boring if it is happening right lol.
I’m just glad to see it in operation here on OG, because I think it is something the world frankly can and should imitate.
Who’d have thought? 
Buncha stoners setting a good example. . . lol
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Ah good that you mentioned.
FYI to everyone,
Transpiration is a main driving force of water uptake (above 90% of nutrient uptake = water uptake) during day time. That means when you have low radiation input or low leaf area, you get less water uptake. So defoliation=less leaf area to capture radiation and also less leaf area to transpirate → low water uptake.
However when you do that on the bottom leaves where anyway light doesn’t reach, this negative influence is very minimal
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I don’t do defoliation, I leave that job to the plant.
For me, leaves are part of a system of converting light energy into flowers, more leaves = more light capture = more photosynthesis, which in turn requires more watering and nutrients, to obtain larger flowers.
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My 2 cents on defoliation as with my experience and need for more information. Every leaf removed will signal 2 new leafs to start growing. This is will definitely be noticeable as the leaf count increases. What’s more interesting is the time of the defoliation whether in veg or early flower or potentially late in flower when there is no time left for the new leaf growth to grow after defoliation before it’s harvested. Too many variables but I am more so interested in late flower defoliation as possibly being the best of bolth worlds. No time for new leaf growth before harvest and exposing lower growth to ripen and finish stronger. Have not put enough effort into this yet maybe some other’s here have and will chime in … there is also the number of defoliations and timing those defoliations. A lot of different recipes if you will. Would love to hear from some late flower only defoliaters lol Cheers !!!
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Leafs afiak are key to photosynthesis but even if we take that of the table there’s transpiration, c02 absorption and a source of starch that gets used during darkness (see starch iodide testing)
My primary use for defoliation is slow stretch and stop mothers getting too vigorous.
I’ll post pics another time.
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