Pruning for Bulk

I read somewhere (i believe Ed Rosenthal), that it can be advantagous to pick out 5-6 top bud sites on your plant, and then snip off all the other smaller, lower, weaker, shadowed, underdeveloped bud branches on the plant.

The logic:

Premises:
P1. A flowering plant will use it's energy to grow buds at flower-sites.
P2. The more well-developed, well-lit bud-sites (top colas, big side-arm branches, etc) will have the biggest buds.
P3. The lower branches will have smaller, less-developed buds.
P4. Eliminating non-lethal parts of a healthy plant will cause concentrated growth in remaining areas.

Conclusion:

C1. Eliminating the lower branches on a flowering plant will cause productive energy into the remaining choiciest bud-sites, causing overall a greater more efficient buddage in those key areas.

What do you guys think? Should I perform major "corrective" surgery on my plant?

i can see how that makes sence! iam stoked to hear about how this go's, so in anycase, if u go along with ur new pruning sceem, keep me updated, ied love to hear how it go's
good luck guy
seattle wiseguy

Makes sense to me too,

I might do that

-Tek

Yeah, I kinda did it and also retied some branches. I'm going to update my grow journal with pics and explaination.

yes it makes sense, but if you sit there and think about it for a sec, you might think of something else. so you snipped the least productive bud areas, right? now your plant is sending alot of nutes and water to fix the cut areas. since it is mending those areas, won't your good bud sites be affected by not getting the nutes that is needed? maybe I am just playing devil's advocate, who knows?

right i see that too, but not as much to fix as to send all the way throughout the fan leaf

????

-Tek

also it will cause a lot of stress drastically increasing the chances of hermaphroditism and possible self-pollination

great input.

a consideration to ponder... If I had 10 plants, I would never attempt this strategy. But I have one plant; a healthy flowering female. I know my plant and I think I know what she'll like and more importantly, how far I can push her.

Regarding the biological implications of nutrient redirection. I believe that the plant will of course send energy to mend (not regrow) the cut parts. I make all my cuts with clean (iso alc) scissors and/or razors.
The energy required to "scab" these over is miniscule compared to the energy that the 12/12 cycle under 430W HPS with almost 200% nute dosage (built up gradually kids, go slow) is doing to the plant. These buds are thriving! And imho as a first-time grower, the pain is worth the gain.

And, these experiments like over-nuting, tying, clipping, bending, stressing, and topping are all providing me with a more diverse and educational growing experience than "just doing the norm". My norm is gonna be crazy for some, but as usual keep checking the journal for updates on how it's going!

You guys rule!

I always prune for quality. I let the plants start flowering, and when they're into the stretch, about day 12-16 or so, I prune any lower branch that I know will produce only a popcorn bud on the end of a long branch. And if left there, will droop under the weight anyway.

Like Ed said, more energy for the good bud.