Grazing is an important part of eggplant care in the greenhouse.

The need for a procedure

It should be said right away that pinching is not a prerequisite for obtaining a good eggplant harvest. Plants may not need this procedure in two cases:

• if they are grown in open ground - in this case, the leaves are left so that they prevent the soil from drying out in hot weather, moreover, the bushes do not grow very intensively under the scorching sun;
• if the eggplant variety is undersized, the bushes of such eggplants, as a rule, are able to form on their own.

In other cases, it is imperative to remove leaves and excess shoots on the bushes. This is due to the fact that most varieties of eggplant form fairly voluminous and heavily leafy bushes. At the base of the leaf petioles located on the main stem, young shoots (stepchildren) constantly strive to grow. If they are not removed in time, the eggplant bushes will become tall and multi-stemmed, and the entire force of the plant will be directed to the growth of green mass to the detriment of the fruit - the ovaries will not have time to ripen, and will simply disappear.

As for greenhouse varieties of eggplant, almost all of them need pinching. However, if they are grown in a greenhouse where temperature and humidity can be controlled, this procedure is not urgently needed. For greenhouse vegetables, pinching only makes sense when you need to get large fruits, since a bountiful harvest in a good greenhouse is already provided.

If the greenhouse eggplants are provided with full care, proper watering, but the temperature is not regulated, then conditions of high humidity are created in the greenhouse. In such an environment, eggplants grow more intensively, and in order to stop growth and force the plant to bush, you need to not only tear off the leaves and side shoots, but also pinch (trim) the top of the bush. Otherwise, the stem will stretch out, become weak, and, accordingly, there will be few fruits on it. These manipulations should be carried out before the buds appear on the eggplant.

Also, pinching eggplant in a greenhouse can be carried out in order to accelerate the ripening of the crop after the formation of the ovary, and even during the fruiting period. In this case, the growth of the bush will stop, and the plant will direct all its forces to the ripening of vegetables. It is also advisable to pick off newly appeared inflorescences. Correct pinching allows you to control and direct the flow of nutrients from the roots to the ovary, and thus influence the size of the fruit.

The same procedures are followed for tall eggplants grown outdoors. If the bushes are intensively growing, and there are few or no ovaries, the only thing that can help in such a situation is pinching the top and removing the lower shoots.

Many vegetable growers prefer to plant low-growing eggplants in the open field.Such varieties have certain advantages - easier care, no need for tying and pinching. Bushes of undersized eggplant are formed naturally, and nutrients in all parts of the plant are redistributed independently, so they do not need to be pinned.

Preliminary work

Regardless of where the eggplant is grown: in a greenhouse or open field, the bushes should first be tied up before the pinching procedure. This is due to the fact that tall stems under the weight of ripening fruits can bend, and even break, besides, the removal of excess shoots also contributes to weakening the trunks.

For plants in a greenhouse, the ideal option would be to pull a wire over the bushes along the planting, to which the stems are then tied with twine, or to install a trellis. For shrubs in the open field, a trellis or installation of long stakes is suitable. It is necessary to install such supports very carefully, trying not to damage the roots.

Each plant must be tied up in several places below the branching of the stem, as this is considered the most vulnerable. If in the greenhouse it is not possible to pull a rigid wire, then stakes can be used as a support, however, it must be borne in mind that a shadow forms under the shelter from the stakes, which is fraught with the growth of fungal flora on the trunks. For eggplant outdoors, this is not a problem, since the garden bed is usually illuminated by the sun from all directions.

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How to pinch correctly

The procedure itself is carried out in the interval of 14-20 days from the day the seedlings are planted in the soil. You can wait up to twenty days if the plants are weak and do not take root well, but for strong, well-established seedlings, 14-15 days from planting will be optimal, since you need to have time to carry out pinching before the buds appear.

It should be clarified right away that it is advisable to carry out pinching with your hands. All shoots and leaves growing below the main branch must be removed. If the eggplant bushes grow in the garden, and there is no way to provide the necessary care and watering, the lowest leaves can be left to shade the roots and prevent the soil from drying out.

You should pinch eggplants no earlier than a month before the end of the growing season. This will stop the growth of the stems and direct all the nutrients to the ovary. However, if the green mass grows too intensively - this happens with high humidity during the period of heavy rainfall, you can pinch off the top even earlier.

Experienced vegetable growers use different schemes for the formation of bushes: in one stem, or several stems. If vegetables are grown in a small-sized greenhouse, then the first option - in one stem, will be the most optimal, since it saves usable area and space. This scheme assumes that when the plant reaches a height of 30 cm, all additional shoots are pinched off from it and only one stem remains.

The multi-stem arrangement is more efficient as it allows for higher yields. It is not more difficult to follow it than the previous one, only in addition to the main stem, 2-3 more shoots should be left. All inferior processes and foliage below the main bifurcation are removed. This scheme is acceptable both for vegetable crops in the greenhouse and for those that grow in the garden.

At this stage, the eggplants need constant grooming. Young shoots will regularly grow on the side shoots, which should be pinched off as they appear. When forming a bush, it must be remembered that there should be one ovary on each stem. As for stunted bushes, they do not need pinching, but with a large amount of foliage, it can simply be thinned out.The correction of the bush of low-growing crops is carried out only after the formation of the ovary.

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