Bottom Pods / Trim banches?

One of the rules we follow is if it touches ground, it is not food.  Have some Red Savs that have podded up on lower branches so much that some are going to touch mulch soon.  Have seen folk grow palm tree looking peppers due to light only on the top, wondering if trimming the bottom branches before transplant would cause pods producing energy to go to the top or just decrease production.

What do you think?  Palm clip for palm tree or not?

Palm clip it.
Why don't you eat it if it touches the ground?

     I always remove the branches that grow from the first half dozen or so nodes up the stem. Not only does it reduce the chances of fruit growing on the ground, but it also improves air flow. Check out my latest glog updates for pics of some of my plants. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/51978-hybrid-mode-01-2015/page-6

DrPepper - Take a peek at the thread that Hybrid posted.  In one of the pictures is a rabbit.  Even if you are not organic, you cant really control what is on the ground.  Not long ago, there was an apple sauce company that poisoned a bunch of people.  It did not pasteurize its product.  It paid its workers by the bushel.  To make money faster, those workers picked some apples up off the ground where it had contacted deer droppings.  Peppers are not pasteurized so I figure best to be safe.

Now this is a double standard because our water melon, cucumbers, zucchini, and other plants come into contact with the ground but we put those on a bed of straw to prevent rot.  The water falls threw the straw and dries out faster.  That and it makes it really easy to identify mother natures little gifts.