Most growers treat this crop as biologically unique. That assumption breaks more things than it fixes.

In this conversation, John Sokolik explains how well-studied crops like hops, tomatoes, hackberry, and lima beans reveal practical lessons about canopy density, light penetration, pest pressure, and plant defense signaling. Topics include leaf area index, under-canopy lighting, plant communication via jasmonic acid, and why some tissues become energy sinks instead of contributors.

If you want higher efficiency—not just more biomass—this is the lens to use.

Chapters

00:00 – Why treating this crop as “exceptional” causes problems

01:06 – Hops: same family, different canopy strategy

02:48 – Light penetration and under-canopy lighting results

03:55 – Leaf Area Index and diminishing returns

05:37 – Hackberry as a pest pressure warning sign

08:29 – Plant-to-plant communication and defense signaling

12:52 – Tomato trichomes and transferable research

14:00 – What growers should actually apply