Carrying out stepsoning at eggplant stems is a controversial issue in the garden environment, every gardener has his own opinion on this matter. In order to decide whether you will pinch the seedlings, you need to understand the nuances of the procedure and clearly understand how and why this or that action is carried out.
First of all, I note the negative impact of a large number of stepchildren on the fruiting of a crop:
- the overall growth and development of the plant slows down due to the distribution of internal juices along “extra” shoots;
- rapid depletion of the soil due to the increased outflow of nutrients;
- thickening of the bush and common beds;
- slow maturation;
- falling ovaries and inflorescences;
- deterioration in the appearance of fruits and their taste.
Basically, the general nutrition of the bush, its development and the quality of the future crop suffer from an excess of growing shoots. For horticultural and vegetable crops, pinching has a clear benefit.
Correct timing
For eggplants, the first period of removal of “dummy” shoots begins a month after transplanting to permanent beds. By this time, the plants are sufficiently strengthened and adapted to the environment, the roots go deep into the ground, forming a strong system. The risk of severe injury to the bush is significantly reduced and the bush tolerates the procedure quite easily.
If you keep track of suitable climatic conditions for pinching, then I recommend starting action on a warm, dry day without precipitation and hot sun. High humidity can cause infection of cuts with rot, fungus or mold, and the sun's rays can lead to severe burns.
In time - carry out pruning of the shoots in the early morning, so that until the evening the plant "tightens" its wounds and is not afraid of the night cold.
Proper execution
Eggplants are recommended to stepchild in one, two and three stems, all of these options have a number of pros and cons. Different varieties have their own type of formation, I will tell you more about each method in more detail.
A bush with one main stem is suitable for eggplants growing in closed and extremely space-limited beds. To get a good harvest from a mini-greenhouse, follow these steps:
- when a height of 30 cm is reached, all excess shoots and leaves are removed from the plant, leaving one leaf at a time to feed the ovary;
- if there are several shoots on the bush, the strongest is left;
- growing new shoots are regularly stopped to avoid loss of nutrition;
- 3-4 weeks before a cold snap, pinch the top and cut off all formed inflorescences.
The shape of the bush with two main shoots is suitable for low varieties that need help in the formation of full and fertile fruit ovaries.
Step by step process:
- when reaching a height of 30 cm, pinch the growing tip;
- up to five strong branches are selected between the grown shoots, the remaining ones are cut off;
- also remove all shoots below the first ovary and extra shoots on selected stems;
- to obtain large fruits in the future, it is necessary to leave no more than 6 ovaries on each branch;
- in the process of bush growth, all obsolete leaves and dry tips are removed.
The formation of a 3-stem bush is similar to the previous version with several distinctive features:
- the stem is pinched at a height of 35 cm;
- a couple of weeks after the appearance of the main branches, a couple of the strongest stepchildren are left, the rest are cut off after 2 sheets;
- each branch is repeated;
- also remove all damaged leaves and "dummy" shoots.
Pasynkovanie affects the growth of large fruits.
Are you doing this process?
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