Question: Variation on Super-Cropping

[PaganRich]

Hail all and festive greetings
There are no photo`s of this with lasses
Simple question-Super-Cropping...bruising stem, bent angle, we know the business. Meant to help increase yield size and density.
So, you top an inch above 2 nodes on one of your stems branching out....a good strong stem say. The 2 nodes don`t need to be symetrical but in this instance they are. You have 2 shoots develop. Now, we`ve all done it, topped, 2 off shoot grows and one fails to develop or we have trimmed it off completely and gone with the remaining nodal growth which develops, gets woody and bob`s your uncle. Now, my question is this, you`ve topped a branch, 2 new off shoots grow below cut, you remove one of those to focus growth on the other, that is super-cropping in a sense so would that potentially increase yield and growth in a way easier than bending and bruising. I have drawn a picture. It is not a very good picture....just a thought that drifted cloud like across the void of my mind

[9fingerleafs]

Then you just undo your topping, this happens all the time in mothers when taking clones

[PaganRich]

9fingerleafs Yeah, great answer 9 but thinking aloud here, if you let that mature stem wise, would you develop the knobbly bit that you do with SC and would that, if done all over a plant, poss increaseyield?

[9fingerleafs]

The major effect suppercroping has over plant structure, besides changing the shape of the branch, is that the plant recognizes damage has been done to the branch and the hormones rush to lower nodes and stimulate growth in case the damaged branch don’t recover, you may be able to thicken up nodes by topping and then leaving only one tip but I don’t think it’s beter than no topping at all

[PaganRich]

Thanks 9fingerleafs that was a really excellent answer. Many thanks

[Toker1]

Super cropping alone does not increase yields. Supper cropping encourages a more flat even canopy which leads to increased yeilds. You bend the branches away from the plant increasing the square area it takes up. Good light distribution (from the bending and shaping) is what increases the yields.

[Potted]

supper cropping allowes ascess to the lower branches with light allowing them to catch up to the higher ones.