Does Pepper Seedling Need Pinching and Topping?
This article provides a comprehensive introduction to whether pepper seedlings need pinching and topping, followed by detailed content sharing.
Does Pepper Seedling Need Pinching and Topping?
In open-field cultivation, whether with or without mulching film, few people pinch and top the pepper plants, usually only removing lateral branches and promptly removing old and diseased leaves from the lower part to prevent shading and falling of flower buds. However, in protected facilities like greenhouses, some pepper plants may be pinched and topped. Whether to pinch and top depends on the variety, cultivation method, and other factors; some should be pinched and topped, while others should not.
Pepper stems are upright with a woody base, relatively tough, and not prone to lodging. The plant height of peppers is generally between 30-150 cm, varying with different strains and varieties.
After the pepper seeds germinate, two thick and narrow cotyledons will grow, with a growing point between them that gradually develops into stems and leaves, forming the above-ground part, which is the pepper's stem and branches, mostly in a 'V' shape, with 2 or 3 branches, and the part below the cotyledons is the main stem.
The branches above the main stem are the main part for setting fruit and also the channels for the transport of water and nutrients. To set more and better fruits, some peppers may be pinched and topped under different cultivation methods and management patterns, while others are not.
Generally, in open-field cultivation, whether with or without mulching film, few people pinch and top the pepper plants, usually only removing lateral branches and promptly removing old and diseased leaves from the lower part to prevent shading and falling of flower buds.
In protected facilities like greenhouses, some peppers may be pinched and topped. Let's take a look.
In our vegetable-growing area, there are various protective cultivation methods for peppers, and under different cultivation methods, the management of peppers is different.
1. Greenhouse Winter-Spring Pepper
After transplanting this batch of peppers, when the plants reach a certain height, they need to be supported and pruned.
Pepper pruning has two main methods: two-pronged pruning, 2-1 pruning, 2-2 pruning, 3-1 pruning, and four-stalk pruning. Regardless of the pruning method used, the first step is to remove the terminal bud, then proceed with pruning, otherwise, excessive nutrient retention can result in the failure to set fruit in the middle and upper parts, reducing yield and quality in later stages.
Under this cultivation method, due to low soil and air temperatures, the growth momentum is较弱, and pinching and topping are generally not used. To prevent excessive growth, the greenhouse temperature and humidity can be adjusted, and 4000-5000 times dilution of growth regulators can be sprayed during the flowering period.
2. Greenhouse Early-Spring Pepper
This batch of peppers is also rarely pinched and topped. When the plants enter the full fruiting stage, they grow very vigorously. To reduce nutrient consumption and increase ventilation and light penetration, we generally remove the inner excessive growth branches and overly vigorous branches.
The yellowing old leaves at the bottom of the branches should also be removed. If the plant grows too vigorously with few fruits above the terminal bud, the harvesting of the terminal bud can be extended to promote fruit setting.
Let's introduce a method of pruning and regrowth.
Early spring peppers are usually pulled out and rotated in autumn, but some local farmers will choose a sunny morning at the end of July to early August to cut the top branches of the fruiting position, allowing them to branch out again, usually by late August, they can harvest peppers again.
Note that to prevent disease infection from the cut, a fungicide should be sprayed promptly after pruning. Here, we spray a 1:1:240 dilution of Bordeaux mixture, followed by a second spray seven days later. After pruning, strengthen fertilization and watering management, and from late September, strengthen insulation work, which can continue to be harvested until around New Year's Day.
3. Greenhouse Summer-Extended Pepper
Peppers grown in summer are prone to excessive growth and can be pruned with two or three main stems and supported to prevent lodging.
In controlling excessive growth, we use the method of spraying growth regulators to inhibit vegetative growth, strengthen the plants, and promote reproductive growth, improving fruit setting rate.
Generally, pinching and topping are not performed to prevent the occurrence of viral diseases.
4. Greenhouse Autumn-Winter Pepper
This batch of peppers can be pinched and topped. After entering the full fruiting stage, internal excessive growth branches should be removed, and old leaves from the bottom should be taken off.
Fifteen days before pulling the plants, pinching can be performed to allow nutrient regression and promote the quick development of smaller fruits into marketable ones.
5. Greenhouse Winter-Extended Pepper
Due to the lower temperature, this batch of peppers has weaker growth momentum and generally does not adopt pinching and topping measures. Instead, non-fruiting branches and weak branches are removed, and when individual main branches become weak and lose their fruiting ability, they are removed along with the fruit. Yellowed leaves from the bottom should be removed promptly and disposed of outside the greenhouse.
6. Greenhouse Continuous Cultivation Pepper
Nowadays, several local farmers adopt the method of continuous pepper cultivation, which can extend the production period of peppers in the greenhouse by 2-3 years, increasing yield and land utilization.
This batch of peppers uses mid to late-maturing varieties with strong growth momentum, which can easily lead to excessive growth.
In spring management, plants on the south side of the greenhouse often reach the film earlier, affecting light transmission, so besides the normal removal of lateral branches, overly long branches should be pinched to reduce plant height.
In summer management, after a winter and spring of flowering and fruiting, the plants consume a lot of nutrients and have weak growth momentum, requiring recovery. Therefore, in summer, fruit setting should be reduced to concentrate nutrients on the stems and leaves, recover growth momentum, and improve the quality of lower lateral buds, generally without pinching and topping.
After entering September, regrowth peppers are not prone to excessive growth and should not be pinched and topped. Fertilization and watering should be provided promptly to promote early fruiting. After entering the fruiting period, normal top-dressing and watering can be started.
In summary, whether to pinch and top peppers depends on the variety, cultivation method, and other factors; some should be pinched and topped, while others should not. This should be noted and treated differently in actual management.
The above is a specific introduction to whether pepper seedlings need pinching and topping, for reference by netizens.