Originally Posted by Akula

Leaves are like solar panels. All the cost is in the installation. Maintenance is behind the comma. Yes, the power drops in time with age however 50% of something is always greater than 0% of nothing.

The theory about leaf pruning is that the plant will grow vertically faster when the old leaves are pruned off vs. when the old leaves are maintained till they fall off/turn brown. Old aged solar panels are taken offline early forcing the plant to produce new solar panels faster to maintain/increase power level. There appears to be some truth to this (plant grows slightly faster vertiically) but its not clear if there is a net benefit for the plant (could result in slightly earlier but smaller bunches).

I chose to maintain the leaves as long as possible but do remove for aesthetic reasons i.e. brown leaves are unattractive to me. I want maximum production of energey during the entire life of the plant so the plant is strong and can produce large bunches. More leaves also means more power is available to push the growth of pups.