Pruning methods for jicama vines: a step-by-step guide to correctly pruning the 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 grown on trellises to avoid crowding on the ground, to keep the branches, stems and leaves fully carrying out photosynthesis and producing nutrients, and to ensure good growth. But even with trellises, pruning is still needed at each stage, 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. The ones kept are generally at staggered nodes on both sides, and you should also keep the robust side branches with strong growth vigor. Weak branches and those at poor nodes should all be removed. From then on, at each level of branch retention, keep the robust ones; the higher up you go, the more you can keep, but many are also removed.

2. Pinching

When the main vine grows to 2 m, it should be pinched to stop it from growing further. All the selected and retained side branches, once they grow to more than 1 m, must be forcibly stopped from growing. After that, every branch kept is pinched once it reaches its proper length, pinching continuously, developing side branches and inhibiting apical growth.

3. Removing buds

The buds at the base of the main vine should be removed; they must not sprout and shoot, to avoid the lower part becoming closed and stuffy, lacking ventilation, and increasing the risk of disease. For clustered buds, keep one or two strong buds and then remove the others. This ensures the sprouting of the most robust branches. As for the top buds, they consume nutrients and burst forth profusely 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 close to 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

In midsummer, new shoots growing wildly or some diseased vines must be cut off in time; this prevents the spread of disease and also ensures that nutrients are mainly supplied to the underground rhizome. To ensure growth, none of the above-ground summer shoots are retained, or a portion of the spring shoots is removed and replaced by summer shoots, maintaining vigor and also ensuring seed maturity.

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