STUDIES ON THE METHODS OF CULTIVATION IN HOP-PLANT. : 1. Effect of Training the Laterals in Place of the Main Stem in Hop

Abstract

(1) In order to ascertain wether the training of lateral branches spring from nipped stems would be effective in economizing the use of trellis-work, we set up three section: the one in which plants representing primary lateral branches only were trained, the another in which those from secondary lateral branches were grown and the third which was devoted to the raising of plants developed from tertiary lateral branches. We inquired into the difference between each of the above groups of hop-plants and plants of which the stems were let to grow without any nipping having been done. (2) We found that, by nipping the stem the speed of growth was accelerated and that there was no delay in the flowering time or in the time of cone-formation, in spite of the delay in starting the training of lateral branches. Moreover, there was unity in florescence and cone-formation. In the case of tertiary lateral braches, however, excessive delay in starting the training of the branches led to the abnormally early conversion from nutritive growth to progenitive growth, with the result that flowers came out before the branches had elongated sufficiently. (3) The "effective node percentage" was slightly higher in the case of traiped lateral braches, there being no remarkable difference on the whole. However, lateral branches that had sprung from those lower and middle parts of the stem comprised what may be properly called effective nodes had a greater percentage, in case the stem or the lateral branch was nipped, owing to the lowering of the position from which the lowest flowering lateral branch sprang as well as to the shortening of inter-nodal length in the lower part. (4) The output of cone was increased by training lateral branches, while the yield was heightened through the decrease in the number of flowers of inferior grade. (5) No degradation of cone quality or decrease in the size of cones was caused by the training of lateral branches.