Yes if you added so many lights that your entire plant was receiving direct light you would not need to defoliate.
That's exactly my point! This is why i brought up outdoor growing earlier too, unlike the light from the sun our indoor lighting loses a substantial amount of it's intensity the further away from the plant it is. Also unlike the light from the sun, our lights are stationary and shine down at our buds from the same angle everyday. This is why outdoor plants get full dense buds top to bottom, they get full light intensity over the whole plant (not just the top) and the angle at which the light hits the plant changes every minute of the day. These are the aspects of mother nature we need to try to replicate to get full dense buds top to bottom.
I already said in this thread that i used to practice the defoliation method, and i did so for years. I completely understand the impact it has and why people choose to do it. I also understand that leaves are the most important part of the plant because leaves are what drives the growth of the buds and the entire plant for that matter. The whole reason our plants need water, light and CO2 is because they are absolutely essential for photosynthesis to happen. Photosynthesis is what drives all plant growth, including buds. Everything we do to our plants to attempt to improve growth such as better lighting, good nutes, plenty of water, CO2 enrichment, perfect temps, ect is all to speed up the rate of photosynthesis and nothing more. All of this photosynthesis happens in the leaves of the plant and any time you remove healthy leaves you hinder photosynthesis and plant growth altogether.
I know plants have the ability to lose some leaves and still remain strong and that defoliation to let direct light to hit lower buds to improve their growth does in fact work but there is a cost. Its just like the saying
rob Peter to pay Paul, you're making a sacrifice in one area to improve another...
This is the reason for the last year, I've stopped chopping leaves and instead been adding side lighting in the form of cfl bulbs in addition to my hid lighting. Some free hanging cfl's hung right down into the canopy between plants add light intensity to lower bud sites and allow light to hit bud sites from multiple angles much more accurately mimicking mother nature than a single over head light.
i notice some ppl keep saying add more lights and that you cant have enough light. yeah who's paying for the power mom and dad cause it ain't cheap im grower to save myself money i don't grow 20 30 plants looking for a major case so if its for personal how would running up the electric bill be better . then using what little light you got to your advantage idk .
If you can't afford your bills then you shouldn't be growing in the first place. Adding a couple hundred watts of light should equate to a few more ounces of bud. So if growing for yourself in the first place is cost effective for you, then adding more light should be as well.
