How to pinch peppers correctly?

If you plan to grow peppers in your country house, you should remember some important rules for caring for such a plant. An important place in this case is occupied by the pinching procedure. Today we will talk about how to carry it out correctly, at what time it is best to perform it.

Pinching is a procedure that removes the tips. It is considered one of the stages in the formation of a bush, along with pinching and pruning of the lower leaves.

Pepper must be pinched for specific purposes.

• Restricting the growth and development of new branches that can grow too much. They will pull all the nutrients from the ground, this ultimately leads to the appearance of small fruits.
• Improving illumination and ventilation of plants... All parts of the bushes will receive the required amount of light, condensation will not accumulate inside, which can lead to dropping of the ovaries, yellowing of leaf plates, loss or reduction of yield.
• Stimulation of fruit ripening, increase in yield.

Thanks to this treatment, the growth of vegetation is suspended upward and the growth of stepchildren is activated, which give the plants a spherical shape.

Agronomists note that the need for pinching will largely depend on the characteristics of a particular variety, as well as on weather conditions. Excessive precipitation, together with elevated temperatures, make the pinching procedure mandatory.

Strong-growing varieties of pepper need such processing first of all. Bushes of such varieties can reach a height of 2-3 meters, they are distinguished by a rather powerful and lush green mass. Without formation, they will grow and develop poorly. These types include, including varieties "Orange miracle", "Merchant", "Boatswain".

In addition, it should be borne in mind that all varieties of sweet peppers can be divided into two large groups.

• Indeterminate... They will need treatment to limit the growth of greenery for better ventilation.
• Determinant... They do not need the obligatory formation of a bush, subject to all the rules of planting and cultivation, they will be able to grow and bear fruit even without pinching.

If you do not pinch, then this can lead to negative consequences.

• Poor root development in peppers, as a result, the bush will receive too little of the necessary nutrients.
• Decreased yield levels... In the area of ​​internodes, new shoots will begin to appear, on which additional ovaries appear.
• Excessive green mass build-up... This applies to tall varieties. As a result, the bushes grow too powerful and large, but the fruits at the same time become very small, with thin walls.
• The development of various diseases. During formation, the plants will grow strongly in all directions, they will be very cramped, this will lead to the fact that the culture will start to hurt.

If you purchased pepper seeds, you should read the information on the package in detail. Often the manufacturer indicates whether it is necessary to pinch or not.

Often, gardeners do a pinch on the seedlings. This allows you to achieve the maximum yield in the future. And also the procedure will stimulate the development and growth of lateral stepchildren, prevents the appearance of flowers too early after planting in the soil. As a result, strong and strong bushes grow with a sufficient number of ovaries, which gradually turn into full-fledged fruits.

The procedure should be performed only during certain periods. The first pinching is carried out when 5-7 small leaves appear on the plant... As a rule, at that time the vegetation reaches a height of about 10-15 centimeters.

Further, the procedure is carried out throughout the entire growing season. And it doesn't matter where exactly the culture is grown, in the open field or in a greenhouse, a greenhouse.

Next, we will take a closer look at how to correctly pinch bell peppers step by step. The first to gain strength in culture is one major escape. The branches will begin to develop only when it reaches a length of 25-30 cm. The root shoot will need to be carefully cut, at the same time, approximately 4-5 centimeters in length are removed.

After that, excess shoots are removed. This will be the second step in the procedure. In order to eventually get a plentiful and healthy harvest, the strongest and largest shoots (3-4 pieces) are selected, all the rest are pinched.

During the third stage, the non-fertile parts are removed. This is done only after the ovaries have formed. For vegetation, these parts will be completely useless.

When the fourth stage is performed, the skeletal branches are removed. The procedure is carried out only after the formation of small fruits. This will significantly improve the growth of vegetation, as well as facilitate faster ripening of fruits.

After that, pinching will need to be performed only as needed. In this case, you need to focus on the ovaries and growth rates of culture. The tops of the pepper are pruned about once every two weeks in the spring and throughout the summer. In the fall, it is better to carry out the procedure only once a month.

Using this technology, pinching takes place both in the open field and in the greenhouse. But it should be borne in mind that in the latter case, such procedures can be performed more often, since there is a limited amount of space in greenhouse structures, therefore, it is often possible to observe excessive thickening of the plantings, which has a bad effect on the condition of the seedlings.... In order to thin out the rows a little, pinching is also used.

There are some important tips to keep in mind when pinching peppers. Many experienced gardeners advise to carry out such procedures only in clear weather without precipitation and wind. However, it should not be too sunny.

Remember that processing is done exclusively on healthy plants. Diseased or damaged crops may not withstand it and simply die. Formation should be carried out with a sharp, well-sharpened knife or garden shears. In this case, the selected tool is pre-treated with a disinfectant so as not to infect the pepper with anything. For disinfection, you can use chlorine-containing solutions or alcohol.

All remote parts of the bushes are immediately removed from the site, it is recommended to burn them. Do not forget that it is strictly forbidden to remove all unnecessary shoots at once.

Pinching is not carried out immediately after abundant watering, because various harmful organisms and infectious agents can be found on wet plants... After completing the procedure, watering is not carried out for several more days so that they can recover faster.

All places of cuts that appeared after pinching are recommended to be treated with disinfectants. Sometimes crushed activated carbon is used for this purpose.There are also special drugs that can be purchased at specialized stores. If disinfection is not done, it can lead to infection of the bush.

If you plan to get varietal seed material in the future, then you do not need to cut the root bud. The fruit that ripens from it must be left until it is fully ripe.