DISBUDDING - Removal of unwanted buds in order to direct the plants energy into the remaining ones.  This is often used in bonsai as a shaping technique especially with shohin (small size) bonsai. Unwanted buds if allowed to grow will have the beneficial effect of thickening the branch between it and the trunk. Their removal however, leaves scars which are unacceptable on a small tree, so by careful removal of unwanted buds from the front this risk can be eliminated.