A Detailed Guide to the Latest Pruning Methods for Jicama Vines

Anyone who has grown jicama knows that jicama is a plant with extremely strong sprouting ability in its above-ground parts. In production cultivation, it generally needs to be trellised to avoid crowding on the ground, to keep the vines, stems and leaves fully carrying out photosynthesis, producing nutrients, and ensuring good growth. But even with trellising, pruning at each stage is still necessary, so as to maintain the best plant structure.

1. Thinning branches

When the plant has grown to more than 1 m after planting, you should begin selecting side branches. Generally, one main vine should keep 6 to 7 side branches, and all the others should be thinned out. Those kept are usually at staggered nodes on both sides, and you should also keep the robust, strongly growing side branches. Weak branches and those at poor nodes must be removed. From then on, at each level of branch retention you should keep the robust ones; the higher up you go, the more you can keep, but many will still be removed.

2. Pinching out the growing tip

When the main vine grows to 2 m, the growing tip must be pinched out to stop further growth. All the selected and retained side branches must have their growth forcibly stopped once they grow beyond 1 m. After that, every retained branch is pinched out once it reaches its proper length. By pinching out the tips repeatedly, you develop side branches and inhibit apical growth.

3. Removing buds

Buds at the base of the main vine must be removed; they must not be allowed to sprout and shoot, so as to avoid a closed, stuffy lower canopy with poor ventilation that increases the risk of disease. For clustered buds, keep one or two strong buds and then remove the rest. This ensures the most robust shoots are produced. As for the top buds, they consume nutrients and flush vigorously in summer, so they should be thinned out.

4. Removing leaves

In summer, remove old leaves, diseased leaves or yellowing leaves at any time; this reduces consumption, improves ventilation and light penetration, and maintains the efficiency of photosynthesis. But do not remove the leaves near the underground rhizome, as these leaves have a shading effect. They can prevent the soil from becoming too dry or losing water.

5. Cutting vines

New shoots that run wild in midsummer or diseased vines must be cut off promptly; this prevents the spread of disease and also ensures that nutrients are mainly supplied to the underground rhizome. To ensure growth, the above-ground summer shoots are not retained at all, or a portion of the spring shoots is removed and replaced with summer shoots, maintaining vigor and also ensuring seed maturity.

When growing jicama, if it is generally not trellised, it must be planted at a relatively wide spacing, and pruning is indispensable. If trellised, photosynthesis is much better, but this pruning must still be carried out. The main pruning is in summer, mainly to adjust the plant structure, ensure concentrated nutrient supply and effective use, and ensure the quality of the swollen roots.