Clipping leaves?

Can someone please help me understand “clipping” transplants?

I’m reading Bob’s book (Grow Your Own Cigars) and it’s mentioned a couple of times and I want to make sure I understand what’s going on.

Are we saying that the leaves of small starts are clipped if they encroach on the space of neighboring starts? Or…

Is this just getting rid of the lowest leaves that are touching the dirt. What will become the “sand lugs”?

I was intrigued when it’s mentioned again on page 55 as resulting in higher nicotine levels!

Any help clarifying this point is greatly appreciated!

Ill just share my experience, I "clip" very small plants in the seed cells because if they go unclipped some of the unruly bastards will get so big their neighbor (2" away) will suffer reduced light exposure which will not only effect their development but obviously their size. I also enjoy uniformity in the seed trays so everybody starts on the same line and as I understand it, clipping leaves let's more of the plants energy move to establishing a root ball. Kind of like later on "suckering" is basically removing parasitic leaf that will rob nutrients from the established leaf structure. I used to remove sand lugs but these days I just pluck them and discard when I start priming. I cant speak to Nicotine level enhancement because I have no way to calculate it but...then again I don't have any complaints about Nic level in my finished leaf. Hope that helps.

With regard to nicotine increasing after clipping:
Leaf damage (from bugs or your scissors) sends a hormone signal to the plant's roots to increase nicotine, which is the plant's main defense against herbivory. I would think of it as simply triggering earlier production of nicotine within sheltered (babied) plants, rather than causing the mature plants to test higher for nicotine. And the clipping also tends to thicken the stalk.

Bob

That’s all great info but what exactly is being clipped?

When I first read about leaf clipping on the forum, there were no pictures posted (at least the threads I was reading). When I asked about excessive time in pots before transplant (13 weeks), it was explained (w/ photo) that you clip 50% of the leaf.

When giving you seedlings their "haircuts," you need to be careful of the growth tip. This is where new leaves and the central stalk grow from. If you snip the growth tip, you'll get a "sucker" crop (at best). Some forum members will use the edges of the pots to make sure they don't snip entire leaves.

As for what leaves are getting clipped, here are the terms that get mentioned and my interpretation of their meanings:

Bed Leaves - these are the young, rounded1st "true" leaves that look nothing like their "adult" leaves we harvest and consider "true to breed". The purpose of these leaves are to get enough energy to grow roots and, subsequently, the plant.

Lugs (mud/sand) - leaves that look like small versions of the leaves you will harvest, including the largest of leaves that are close enough to the ground to get covered in soil. These leaves are often thin and low in quality since the serve the same purpose as bed leaves (just keep growing). However, the large, desirable leaves that touch the ground (the name sake leaves) have all the same properties of the final leaves you'll harvest, but they are often full of holes and need extra cleaning.

Another way to think about leaf clipping is immunizations. You clip these unharvestable leaves to improve plant health and vigor. Leaf loss causes extra root growth to grow more leaves and start making nicotine a pest deterant.

I kept these leaves to experiment with box curing and to know what to expect of the color curing process. Something that was VERY good for identifying how the color change progresses and when the leaves are at risk of mold.

Bob