yield Results From Topping Early Jalapeños

[PDXPeppers]

During the 2024 grow season I decided to test the effects of topping early Jalapeños using the most commonly recommended method I have seen of topping plants at the forth internode. Two identical 10 ft x 30 inch beds were tested with an equal number of plants in each bed. All plants were started from seed and way more were started than actually used to be able to pick plants with near identical characteristics as to avoid having any outliers. Grown in Portland Oregon. Plants were started March 1st and grown in a heated greenhouse before being put outside in mid May. Plants were grown until Mid November when the final harvest was taken.

The not topped plants produced 40% more weight, 59% more peppers and weighed 12% less per pepper on average than the topped plants. Just thought I would pass on my experience.

 

[HellfireFarm]

So not-topped yielded smaller peppers but a good amount more. Interesting results.

I'm curious how other pepper varieties would react.

 

[PDXPeppers]

So not-topped yielded smaller peppers but a good amount more. Interesting results.

I'm curious how other pepper varieties would react.

This is the first year I've recorded it to this extent but have done it a handful of times in past years. Last year was Lemon Drops and got similar results but the peppers on the topped plants were also smaller in addition to lower yields and lower total weight. Most likely will do it again this year, probably with habaneros but not sure yet

 

[Downriver]

It also looks like the not-topped started producing in volume two weeks earlier, and continued to produce two weeks longer, than topped. That's 30 days more, at full production. Interesting results indeed. Thanks for sharing @PDXPeppers. Good stuff!

 

[growyourown]

it's nice to see some hard data on this, as i was thinking about trying my hand at topping this year, but just to keep the plants smaller if they grow too fast before the time to plant outside is reached. interesting, though, how those who swear by topping argue it increases yields by as much as 50%, and your trial shows the opposite effect.

might i suggest another experiment? generally, people say topping "sets plants back" by a couple of weeks because you are removing growth and waiting for regrowth, so perhaps an experiment where you start the seeds for the plants you intend to top two weeks before those you won't top, to see if factoring in that "setback time" to your grow season would change the outcome.

your data makes it seem like it wouldn't help the topped ones win out, but it might make the totals closer.

thanks for sharing your information!

 

[Bou]

it's nice to see some hard data on this, as i was thinking about trying my hand at topping this year, but just to keep the plants smaller if they grow too fast before the time to plant outside is reached. interesting, though, how those who swear by topping argue it increases yields by as much as 50%, and your trial shows the opposite effect.

might i suggest another experiment? generally, people say topping "sets plants back" by a couple of weeks because you are removing growth and waiting for regrowth, so perhaps an experiment where you start the seeds for the plants you intend to top two weeks before those you won't top, to see if factoring in that "setback time" to your grow season would change the outcome.

your data makes it seem like it wouldn't help the topped ones win out, but it might make the totals closer.

thanks for sharing your information!

Hard data would come from comparing many many plants of stable varieties (Early Jalapeno might be, IDK), but I get it. The only reason I would top a plant now would be because it is growing too fast, and is shading the rest. This would also be an indication that I started this particular strain too soon. I cannot back this next statement with the literature, but I believe that plants sown at the correct timing and transplanted without being root bound will in most (if not all) cases outperform plants topped and/or planted too early. And I don't see how nor why pods would be smaller on an untopped heathy plant

 

[growyourown]

i agree, @Bou. i just meant it's good to see people out there conducting experiments and recording and sharing their findings. way too many people online just state things as fact with little to no evidence given (or even used) for why they hold that opinion.

and i hope i don't have to top any, it's not something i wish to do, but i also don't want to risk starting too late, as i still don't have enough experience to know "the right time".

 

[PDXPeppers]

It also looks like the not-topped started producing in volume two weeks earlier, and continued to produce two weeks longer, than topped. That's 30 days more, at full production. Interesting results indeed. Thanks for sharing @PDXPeppers. Good stuff!

Happy to share my experience!

 

[PDXPeppers]

it's nice to see some hard data on this, as i was thinking about trying my hand at topping this year, but just to keep the plants smaller if they grow too fast before the time to plant outside is reached. interesting, though, how those who swear by topping argue it increases yields by as much as 50%, and your trial shows the opposite effect.

might i suggest another experiment? generally, people say topping "sets plants back" by a couple of weeks because you are removing growth and waiting for regrowth, so perhaps an experiment where you start the seeds for the plants you intend to top two weeks before those you won't top, to see if factoring in that "setback time" to your grow season would change the outcome.

your data makes it seem like it wouldn't help the topped ones win out, but it might make the totals closer.

thanks for sharing your information!

I frequently see people throw out random numbers with no proof to back it up so figured I would meticulously record it myself to back my anecdotal findings over the years. I used to religiously top until I realized I was hurting my yields.

From a scientific research standpoint, starting the topped plants two weeks before the untopped plants would not give credible results. When conducting experiments there can only be one differing variable from the control. Starting two weeks early and topping would be two differing variables from the control bed. So there is no way to attribute topping as to the reasoning for a higher total weight because those plants also had two more weeks to grow. This is something I hear people say often and it wouldn't be an accurate representation of the results. If I started all plants two weeks earlier, it would yield the same results, which I have seen from personal experience. I used to start plants much earlier than I do now (I have gotten better at growing and don't need to start as early now) and I have gotten the same results regardless of start date.

 

[PDXPeppers]

Hard data would come from comparing many many plants of stable varieties (Early Jalapeno might be, IDK), but I get it. The only reason I would top a plant now would be because it is growing too fast, and is shading the rest. This would also be an indication that I started this particular strain too soon. I cannot back this next statement with the literature, but I believe that plants sown at the correct timing and transplanted without being root bound will in most (if not all) cases outperform plants topped and/or planted too early. And I don't see how nor why pods would be smaller on an untopped heathy plant

I started a few hundred early Jalapeno last year and there was basically no variation amongst any of the plants. Its a stable variety. Rich has pointed out i should do it again with clones. I may try that this year but not sure if ill have the capacity to put in all that effort and space with how busy I am but it is on my list of things to try.

Yeah i was surprised about the topped ones being a bit heavier as that has not been the case when i have done this in the past. Most of the weight difference was in the first few yields and not so much later on and my GUESS is being due to the plants being much smaller than the not topped plants and putting more resources in the fewer pods it had on the plant while it was trying to adjust to being chopped and recovering from the stress. Pod size averaged out later on in the season. The last ripe harvest there was about 75% less ripe pod on the topped plants and again just guessing the plant was putting more resources into a smaller number of pods. Similar to the idea of giant veggie growing where the grower only allows on fruit to grow on the plant to put all of its resources into one spot. The final harvest of the unripe pods on that same day, the untopped pods were 30% heavier on average.