Re: cut or not to cut
The answer to whether cutting off the male bud has any positive effect on ripening speed, bunch size, etc. is "it depends". Published studies with proper replication and controls show that cutting off the male bud has some relatively small effect in some cultivars and no effect in others. Probably depends on what cultivar you are growing, where you are growing it, how you're growing it, etc. There is no question, though, that bunch pruning (cutting off some female hands) increases the size of the remaining fingers. Nick has lots of experience with that.
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