Gardeners come up with new ways of growing cucumbers almost every season. First of all, they pursue such a goal as increasing yields. But sometimes it is enough just to competently care for the plants, as well as to do pinching on time - pinching the lashes. Therefore, it is important to know how and why to carry out this procedure.
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Purpose of pinching
This manipulation is carried out in order to increase the yield and get it faster, as well as to form such bushes, which will be convenient to care for. Some summer residents do pinching, shortening only the central stem; others cannot figure out how many leaves to leave on the shoots; still others neglect this procedure altogether.
The fact is that there are several varieties of cucumbers, and each has its own type of pinching:
- On bee-pollinated varieties, ovaries are formed on lateral shoots, and only barren flowers develop on the main lash, so only she needs pinching.
- Parthenocarpic hybrids have only female flowers, and the fruits have no seeds. It is not recommended to prune these varieties, as this will negatively affect the yield and the speed of fruit ripening.
Whether cucumbers need pinching can be determined by their variety. If, when buying planting material, the gardener missed this moment, then this can be easily corrected. You should examine the buds in the axils of the lowest leaf blades. If there are small fruits there, the plant belongs to the parthenocarpic species and does not need to remove the growing point. Otherwise, it is a bee-pollinated variety, in which the main whip is pinched.
How to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse
Mainly grown in greenhouses parthenocarpic varietiessince they do not need pollination. Pinch them as follows:
- fix the bush on the support;
- when the main branch grows to half a meter, you need to cut off the lower lateral branches, thereby forming a "blinding zone" of the plant;
- then the side stems should be removed above the first leaf (accordingly, at a height of 50 centimeters, 2-3 leaves and 1 ovary remain);
- at a height of 1-1.5 meters, it is necessary to leave 3-4 branches with 2-3 leaves and 2 female flowers;
- after another 50 centimeters, there should already be 3-4 ovaries.
Advice. If the bush grows too actively, the lashes can be thrown over the support. When the distance to the ground remains about 20 centimeters, the growth point must be cut off.
How to pinch cucumbers in open beds
Bee-pollinated varieties you need to pinch after the formation of several sheets (usually 5-7). The maternal shoot is removed, resulting in only lateral branches growing. The procedure for forming a single-barreled bush is the most common. Thanks to it, there will be fewer barren flowers and increased fruiting.
FROM hybrid varieties you can get a good harvest without pinching. But carrying out this procedure will help to correctly form the bush and activate fruiting. It can be done in three steps:
- it is imperative to remove the side shoots from the first 4 leaf plates, since almost all nutrients go to them;
- stems of 5 and 6 leaves should be pinched when their length is 20 centimeters, and subsequent shoots - 35-40 centimeters;
- the central lash is stepson at a height of 2 to 2.5 meters.
Important. After the pinching procedure, the cucumbers must be carefully looked after.
There are a lot of recommendations for pinching. To choose the right ones, you need to know the difference between the varieties of cucumbers and determine your own goals.
Do you know why you need to pinch cucumbers?
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