Why pick off a mustache from cucumbers
Cucumbers are whimsical plants that require attention and careful care. Today, gardeners argue about whether to cut off the mustache from cucumbers. Some consider this a mandatory event, others are sure that cucumber mustaches are needed to preserve the fruit yield.
Causes of mustache trimming
Do I need to pull off the mustache from cucumbers? Periodically, it is important to at least shorten them, as they cling to any objects, not only to the tapestries.
Sometimes the leaves curl inward due to the shoots, as a result pests are formed in them.
By shortening the whiskers, harvesting is easier. Cucumbers need space for the fruits to grow and ripen. The sprouts are cut when the first cucumbers appear.
If the plant has many shoots, a few are removed completely so that they do not overgrow around the leaves.
There are several more reasons:
- increasing the percentage of yield;
- preservation of nutrients necessary for the growth of fruits, which take away the mustache;
- prolongation of the reproductive period of the plant, while its life expectancy increases;
- the emergence of difficulties in harvesting and caring for;
- the shoots dry quickly, after which the bush falls, breaks and dies.
Carrying out the trimming process
Some gardeners prefer not to prune, but simply to tear off the shoots. This is due to the fact that cucumbers are of the weaving type, their stem is not as strong as that of other bush. With the help of processes, the plants are thoroughly attached to the support.
It is forbidden to pull off the mustache with your fingers: this damages the stem, as a result of which the infection enters the root system. It is best to remove the antennae with scissors.
After the procedure, the fruits grow 2 times faster.
In order for the antennae to grow up, sometimes gratings are installed behind the bush. The technique has a significant disadvantage: after the shoots dry up, the bush falls down and dies. The best way out is to use the trellis both when planting in a greenhouse and outdoors.
It is not necessary to remove the mustache completely, it is enough to cut off the first few centimeters, after a while they will dry out, and the main stem will remain completely unharmed.
Precautions
It is important to rinse your hands thoroughly before the removal procedure.
When pruning, care must be taken: sometimes an infection gets into an open wound, then all the cucumbers disappear. To prevent this from happening, the wound that appears is treated with cotton swabs with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or ash.
Places from which shoots were removed are treated immediately after pruning.
Conclusion
Trimming the tendrils of cucumbers is necessary for many reasons, the main thing is to do everything right so as not to harm the plant.