Correct Pruning Methods for Chili Peppers

In the cultivation of many vegetables and fruits, pruning is an important measure to increase yield. Proper pruning of plants can not only increase crop yield but also improve plant resistance. Let's talk about the correct pruning methods for chili peppers.

Correct Pruning Methods for Chili Peppers

1. Pruning Time: Pruning is best done during the hot summer season, generally from late July to mid-August. By this time, the first crop of fruits has been harvested, and the plants are in a rest period with little difference in temperature between day and night, making it the best time for pruning to have the greatest yield increase effect.

2. Pruning Sites: Typically, a chili pepper plant has four main branches, and pruning should be done on these four main branches. After entering the hot season, each of these four main branches will produce eight lateral branches. At this point, the dense foliage affects ventilation and light transmission, resulting in poor photosynthesis, smaller chili peppers, fruit drop, and rot. To concentrate nutrients on the four main branches, these eight lateral branches should be pruned in a timely manner to reduce disease incidence, improve ventilation conditions between plants, and promote larger and more abundant fruiting.

3. Pruning Methods: Use sharp pruning shears to make smooth cuts to prevent cut-induced diseases or attract pests. During pruning, remove improperly managed broken branches, hanging branches with excessive early fruiting, and branches severely affected by pests and diseases. The pruned branches should be collected and disposed of outside the garden, especially diseased and pest-infested branches. After pruning, apply 5-7.5 kg of urea per mu (about 666-1000 square meters) to promote fruiting and growth. In case of drought, timely irrigation and fertilization are also necessary. Foliar fertilizers can also be sprayed 2-3 times at intervals of about 7 days, using 150 grams of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 250 grams of urea, and 75 kilograms of water per mu each time. It is best to spray on a sunny evening or cloudy day. In addition, strengthen disease and pest control and timely weed removal after pruning.

Benefits of Pruning Chili Peppers

1. Enhanced Spiciness: Different parts of chili pepper plants have different branching and fruiting abilities, resulting in varying commercial fruit rates. Generally, the first and second level branches of the plant have the strongest fruiting ability and the highest commercial fruit rate. As the number of branches increases, the commercial fruit rate decreases gradually. Using pruning techniques to concentrate nutrients on retained fruiting branches and thinning out excess branches on the plant can meet the nutritional needs for fruiting, thereby improving the overall commercial fruit rate and fruiting rate of the plant.

2. Reduced Consumption of Ineffective Fruiting Branches: As the number of thin and weak branches increases on chili pepper plants, these branches generally cannot bear fruit normally but consume various nutrients of the plant in large quantities, reducing the utilization rate of nutrients and not conducive to improving production efficiency.

3. Maintaining Good Lighting Environment: Adequate light is essential for chili pepper fruit coloring and increasing gloss. When there is sufficient light, the fruit will be bright and glossy, with good commercial characteristics. Conversely, insufficient light results in lighter or darker fruit coloring and poor commercial characteristics.

4. Improving Cultivation Environment and Disease Prevention: The more branches chili peppers have, the easier it is to cause field closure, reducing ventilation and light transmission. Therefore, it is necessary to trim the plants to maintain an appropriate leaf distribution density in the field.

Above are the introduction to the correct pruning methods for chili peppers. Failure to prune chili peppers can result in poor quality commercial fruit and low yield, so chili pepper growers need to pay attention to pruning. It is essential to prune chili peppers when cultivating them.