thinning

1. (agriculture, forestry) Process of removing plants or parts of plants to facilitate the growth of other plantsExamples: "The trimming, pruning and thinning must be managed with care. Some need more thinning than others."

2. (agriculture, forestry) Wood, leaves, or other plant parts removed during the process of thinningExamples: "but with a suitable mixture of early and late maturing kinds, the young hickories, ashs and larches can be utilized as thinnings, at a profit. In estimating the value of the thinnings upon the basis of Prof. Sargent's estimate of the acreage yield of hoop poles from hickory plantations,"