Can I air layer or “ground layer” the trunk my brt after a almost full defoliation? if yes could I air layer a branch further up also at the same time
You want as much foliage as possible to support the building of new roots for any layer, so right after defoliation would not be an optimal time to try. Along with the fact that the tree is significantly weakened for a little while as it regrows a secondary flush of leaves before it starts photosynthesizing again. The photosynthisis produces the nutrients sent down to help create the new roots.
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To elaborate further, after leaves have fully flushed out and hardened is a good time for layering. Looks like your setup is indoors, so temperature should not be a problem, but the artificial lighting will never be as strong as real sunlight, so understand that you may need to be patient. Also, if you layer below the lowest leafed branch, then you get 1 shot at it. (There is nothing left to feed the roots below your cambium cut.) For any given layer, there needs to be leaf mass above the cambium cut to feed sugars starches and hormones to the cut site. So yes, in theory multiple layers could be done; however, if you ground layer the whole thing, then for me, I would never attempt to layer another spot above that cut (which is the whole tree). A good example would be layering off several long branches while also leaving branches to feed the remaining root mass. I plan to layer the long branches on my Shishigashira after the leaves harden, about the beginning of June. See photo:
Take a look at the propagation videos, sort by instructor for David Cutchin, also a few of Ryan layering trees.
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It could be a number of things: over watering, spider mites, nutrient imbalance or deficiency, etc. take a close look for pests, but also keep in mind that the tree will always be more susceptible to issues under artificial light.