Do I need to pinch pepper: pros and cons, rules for the procedure

Many gardeners refuse to pinch peppers for fear of harming the plantings - and in vain. Removing useless elements of the bush (stepchildren) helps to improve the appearance, renewal and increase the yield of plants. The main thing is to carry out the procedure correctly!

According to legend, the technique became widespread thanks to the Americans, who practiced pinching large-fruited salad tomatoes. However, later the term lost its meaning and began to be used for any vegetable crops, including bitter and bell peppers.

Do I need to pinch the peppers?

Pepper pinching has supporters and opponents making reasonable arguments for their point of view.

The first ones insist that this is a mandatory procedure, because pinching is necessary for the following reasons:

• promotes the development of a longer main shoot;
• reduces shading of roots;
  improves assimilation activity of leaves;
• eliminates the cost of nutrients for the growth of unproductive shoots.

The second believe that cutting off stepsons is a futile occupation:

• technology is not easy to understand;
• it takes time;
• removing shoots - additional stress for peppers.

The truth, as always, is somewhere in between. Pinching is often necessary, but some varieties of pepper can easily do without it.

When is it necessary to pinch peppers?

The pinching procedure is not just desirable, but vital for sweet peppers in case of illness, excessive planting density, unplanned flowering and stunting.

• Removing sick, weak, dry or growing inward stepchildren is necessary in order to protect the parts of the plant that are not yet infected from infection.
• Grasshopping of an overgrown bush is carried out in order to prevent tangling of the shoots and to provide the root system with sufficient light and moisture.
• The crown flower (or the first few flowers) located at the fork in the branches is removed to restrain the growth of the plant until it reaches the desired size and is ready to bear fruit.
• Grassing peppers drooping and stunted in growth is carried out in order to direct the juice and nutrients running through the plant towards the healthiest and strongest shoots.

Procedure time

It is important to form a bush at certain stages of plant development, adhering to the basic rules:

1. At the beginning of the growing season, the entire lower part of the pepper is cut off in order to direct the juices to the upper developing shoots and leaves.
2. During active flowering, all unnecessary forks are removed, leaving 3-4 large ovaries on each of the skeletal stems.
3. After setting the first fruits, pinch the tops of the peppers to accelerate the ripening of the crop.
4. At the end of growth, it is advisable to remove the lateral shoots, leaving only the skeleton while forming a beautiful standard bush.

In hot and humid weather, which promotes strong overgrowth of peppers, it is necessary to cut off the lower stepsons to facilitate breathing and prevent plant decay.

In case of prolonged drought, on the contrary, it is better to postpone the removal of the lower stepchildren, since their leaves contribute to shading the earth and retaining more moisture in it.

Types of pinching

The type of pinching depends on the variety of pepper, its size and height:

• indeterminate and tall varieties lead to one stem, leaving only the main shoot;
• semi-determinant (medium-sized) varieties form in two stems, leaving a shoot located in the region of the first flower cluster;
• determinant, undersized and dwarf varieties form three stems, leaving three upper stepsons.

Greenhouse and open ground

Pepper picking in the greenhouse and in the open field has some differences and characteristic features:

• In plants in the open field, excess shoots are cut off earlier, before the formation of the 8-10th leaf and fruit part. The main goal is to increase yields by avoiding unripe fruit by the end of the season.
• Peppers growing in a polycarbonate greenhouse are not so dependent on weather conditions. For them, the timing of the procedure can be shifted, and the main purpose of its implementation will be the compact placement of plants and the maximum extension of fruiting.

General recommendations and pinning scheme

The pinching scheme includes preliminary preparation and two stages of the procedure.

It is impossible to tear off all the shoots at once, as the plant can experience severe stress and get sick.

On the eve of the procedure, the instrument is thoroughly disinfected, and the pepper is poured abundantly with water. Then the room is cleaned of dirt and dust so that its particles do not settle on the fresh "wounds" of the cut offshoots (when grown in unprotected soil, to prevent dust from entering, they are guided by the weather, choosing a dry, windless day).

Stepping is carried out step by step in three stages:

1. The first step is to remove the lower leaves on the extra shoots: no more than two leaves every 5 days.
2. The second step is to remove directly the shoots themselves so that only a "stump" 2-3 mm in length remains.
3. The last step is the treatment of the resulting wounds: sprinkling with a special technical powder or crushed wood ash.

In conclusion, it should be noted that pinning is not as difficult a process as it might seem at first glance. With the correct procedure, peppers, unlike many other cultures, tolerate it quite easily and quickly hit growth. However, no one gives a 100% guarantee of a high yield. Whether it is worth the risk unnecessarily is up to you.