To make the plant bushier and more spreading, it can be pruned. If the main shoot is pruned, the plant will not only have one headbud but several smaller ones. The yield is about the same under the same conditions, but pruning is often used for the scroggin method, which provides optimal lighting for all parts of the flower. From this point of view, a better illumination and thus an ideal result in terms of yield can be achieved. More about scroggin here. However, it cannot be said that pruning automatically results in a higher yield.
The top should never be pruned during the flowering phase, otherwise it is also not advisable to prune the plants during flowering. This stresses the plant too much. If anything, this should be done during the growth phase.
After approx. 5 weeks the plant has 6-7 pairs of leaves. The top two are cut off just above the leaf base of the fourth or fifth pair of leaves and can be used as cuttings. Further pruning can be done if, for example, the plant grows too fast or if it needs to become even bushier. It is important that always enough leaves remain.
The best-known method of pruning is to cut away the entire top of a small plant. Another method is to cut only 80 percent of the top tip from the plant instead of the entire tip and leave 20 percent of the rest on the plant. Then, after about 5 to 8 days, 4 to 8 new main shoots develop at the cut.
Important:
Any kind of pruning should be done early and at the beginning of the growth phase. You should also consider what you are trying to achieve: scroggening, lack of space, etc.