Soā¦ just to get it straight, you cut the mature, well developed leaves, that can handle a lot of light, and sacrifice that for under-developed leaves that canāt uptake the light, stunting the photosynthesis process, and somehow that helps the plant grow?
Thereās two sides to the article, and I donāt the Mother Nature is on the wrong side. Smaller leaves alone wonāt help the plant grow, with respect to āShade Avoidanceā. Leaves are the lungs of the plant. It takes in CO2, uses the Carbon Atom with Photosynthesis, to built more plant matter, and releases O2 as waste. If Mother Nature wanted the lower leaves to do the work, they wouldnāt need help by pruning the top leaves off.
Understanding how light reacts with leaves is important. Theres real science in understanding why lower leaves are smaller. Hereās a small clip for your pleasure.
In my experience, larger yields are from longer Veg times, not defoliation.