How to shape pepper properly?

Timely watering, loosening, feeding, controlling protection from pests and diseases - these are the main rules for growing a large and healthy crop of pepper. But that's not all. Every summer resident who decides to cultivate pepper must learn how to form it. The procedure has its own characteristics, techniques, schemes, they are all the salt of this science. However, everyone can master it.

The main reason why it is necessary to form pepper at all is that a powerful bush grows in tall varieties. The volume of the green mass of the plant is so significant that it spends all its strength on its maintenance, and not on the formation of fruits. As a result, the yield falls. And since a person can successfully intervene in the process, he does this - forms pepper.

So, the following points speak in favor of the formation:

• strength and stability of the plant skeleton;
• the bush is cleared of barren shoots and does not waste energy on them;
• the illumination of the plant becomes much more uniform;
• ventilation of the bush is also easy to establish;
• the load provoked by an excess of ovaries is reduced;
• the plant spends all its strength on ripening the fruits;
• finally, the pepper looks more aesthetically pleasing in the garden.

If a huge part of the entire site is occupied by pepper, it will be difficult for the owner to cope with each bush. But usually a greenhouse or even part of it is allocated to this plant, and therefore the procedure is quite feasible.

It is necessary to designate the terms: you can form bell peppers after the bush has grown to 18 cm and the first fork has been identified. Always start by pinching off excess shoots, removing leaves and branches growing below the fork.

Now let's talk in more detail about the techniques used.

• Removing crown buds... They can be seen even at the seedling stage, when the bush is no less than 15 cm. The culture branches, and a bud appears at the branching point, so it will have to be removed. There is no need to be afraid: shoots of the first level are formed in its place. Then from them you need to choose a couple of the strongest ones, later they will become the skeleton of a plant. This is what a perfect bush looks like.

• Removal of excess processes. The appearance of 10-12 leaves on the pepper means that you can remove all the branches, except, of course, the skeletal ones. Then empty shoots will appear on the main stem under the bifurcation point and they will also need to be removed. And do the same with all the barren branches.

• Breaking off leaves. To increase the yield of pepper, you need to leave a couple of leaves for one fruit. And the rest of the foliage is redundant, it only thickens the bush. Dying leaves also need to be removed, because they are potentially dangerous, they can infect the entire plant. Remove about 2 leaves a day.

• Topping... And this is necessary to accelerate the ripening of peppers. Pinching is performed during the initial formation of fruits or, conversely, after harvesting. The tops of the central shoots are to be pinched. This will help the branches not grow, and the plant will direct its forces towards fruit formation.

• Stepping... Stepsons are formed in the internodes of the stems.The process of growing sweet pepper must be regulated, that is, the plantings must be inspected every day.

It seems that there are many tricks and you will have to fiddle around the bushes a lot. But as you get used to it, the processing will be fast and accurate, such a care will not take much time.

There are several of them, and the choice of the scheme depends on various factors.

As soon as the plant begins to branch (it is important not to miss this moment), the lateral processes must be carefully removed. Then the same shoots must be pinched, each should have a bud and a pair of leaf plates. After up to 15 full-fledged leaves are formed on the bush, the top of the pepper is also pinched. But if the variety of pepper is such that it is naturally limited in height, such a method is not even considered: this will not help to get a serious harvest.

This shaping is much more popular. It is great for both medium and tall bushes. After the bushes have begun to branch, you must remove all the processes, with the exception of the fork itself. Then only the most powerful stepson remains, the second one is pinched with a count of a couple of sheets after the flower bud. When the plant has two dozen ovaries, you need to pinch the tops of the branches of the first level.

This system is usually used for medium-sized crop hybrids.... At the beginning of branching, the 3 strongest shoots should be left on the bush. Then the principle of formation is similar in development to the previous one: in each fork the strongest process remains, the second is pinched one or two leaves above the flower bud. And the tops of each of the three stems must be pinched when a quarter of a hundred fruits can be counted on the bush.

The secrets of formation did not end there. It is very important where exactly the pepper grows - right under the sun or still in a greenhouse.

In greenhouses, hybrids and tall varieties of pepper are formed. It is necessary to maintain an interval of 40-50 cm between plants, and 70-80 cm in the row spacing. If these are peppers of medium height, there will be about 8 bushes per square meter. The lower shoots that do not have ovaries, as well as the leaves, are removed before the first fork. This is necessary, because the planted bushes need ventilation. In a greenhouse, this is not always good, because dense plantings may suffer.

On the central branches of the first row, pinching all stepchildren are removed. That shoot of the second row, which is weaker, should also be removed. The leaf and the fruit, by the way, can be left by pinching over the flower bud. Stepsons, yellowish leaves must also be broken off. With the shoots of the third row, they proceed in the same way. Do not forget that it would be correct to put trellises in the greenhouse in the spring so that the seedlings have support and grow not in cramped conditions.

When the bush grows up to a meter or even a little more, pinch the tops to prevent the pepper from growing further. The forces of the plant will be redistributed to fruit formation.

Here, the formation is carried out only in the case of tall varieties. The procedure will consist in removing the crown buds and pinching the stems (the recommended height is 30 cm from the surface). 5 skeletal branches of the first order are left (usually this is the base of the bush), everything else is removed. And then 3 or 4 shoots are left after each fork. When the number of ovaries seems to be sufficient, you can cut off the top. After this, there will be no new ovaries, but the plant will concentrate on growing already formed fruits.

And here, too, there is important information. If you don't figure it out in advance, you can prepare for possible mistakes and insufficient pepper yield.

• Undersized (these are those that grow to a maximum of half a meter). They do not need to be formed if they are not planted very close to each other. If the planting is dense, excess shoots and leaves should be cut off, improving air access to the roots and establishing high-quality lighting.
• Medium-sized (they grow up to a meter). It is imperative to cut off the lower barren shoots of these plants, because they are unproductive, and the culture spends energy on them. If the foliage looks thick, you need to remove some of the leaves, otherwise the lack of light will affect the development of the plant.
• Tall (those that grow up to 2 m). They must be formed. Such varieties are grown in 1-3 stems, stepchildren, leaves, extra shoots are removed in a timely manner, they inhibit the growth of the main branches at the stage of fruit ripening.

It seems easy to remember this, and everything is quite logical. But gardeners still make mistakes, often ridiculous.

One such mistake is refusing to remove the crown bud.... The plant will direct all its strength to its formation. Only on a couple of bushes can you leave the crown bud if you want to get high-quality seeds later and share them with someone.

The second common mistake is the use of a non-sterile instrument during procedures. This is a quick way to get an infection. You should not take the instrument from your neighbors, and if you do take it, then immediately disinfect it.

The third mistake is to remove many leaves from the bush at once. It has already been noted that this is an undeniable stress for a plant, and the operation necessarily implies several approaches. More than three leaves per day are not removed from the pepper.

Finally, refusal to remove sterile ovaries also turns into an incorrect distribution of forces in the pepper. Unproductive ovaries will grow and take food on themselves, which deprives productive ovaries of the necessary substances.

And they are often mistaken after the formation of the plant: it is impossible to water, fertilize, spray a newly formed bush. Pepper has already experienced serious interference, and something else will be excessive for him, he may weaken. And also it is necessary to refuse to carry out all procedures in rainy weather, in excessive humidity: the pepper will be more open to fungi, which is especially dangerous for a formed plant with fresh wounds.

Finally, we will give some useful recommendations from experienced gardeners.

• It is imperative to control the fruit load on the bush. One bush will give a maximum of 2-2.5 dozen fruits. For more, he simply does not have enough food. It can grow 30 peppers, but the quality will suffer. As soon as the number of ovaries has become optimal, it is necessary to pinch the tops of the shoots.
• The soil around the bushes must be loosened: this recommendation is mandatory at all stages of pepper growth and after formation too. This will improve the breathability of the soil.
• If the weather is hot, water the pepper twice a week.... But not immediately after formation.
• Pepper shaping is not a one-time procedure. If you are advised to pick off the leaves at a time, without regret, remove the tops (and all in one day), you need to be skeptical about such advice. Perhaps someone's plants endured such an unmotivated load, but no advisers will return the lost crop to those who listened to them and miscalculated.
• On seedlings, a crown bud can grow not one, but two at once. You can delete both without hesitation. At this place, new shoots will then grow, the bush will become taller, and its fertility will increase.
• If you do not pinch the peppers, the plant's root system can grow weak. The bush simply will not get food and water from the ground. Tall varieties without pinching will definitely increase the green mass, which will not give any sense, and will take away the strength from possible flowers and fruits.
• It is believed that peppers that have undergone formation are more resistant to various types of mosaics, mercilessly striking garden crops.
• The last shearing of the leaves on the bush many gardeners try to spend 1.5 months before the fruits ripen.