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Twisting versus clipping | The differences

Twisting and clipping are two techniques that are being used in cultivation to ensure that young plants grow in height. The choice between these techniques depends on several factors. It’s also possible to combine the two techniques.
valent clip tomato
Martin Meuldijk
Specialist Crop Rotation | May 20, 2022 | 4 min. reading time

Why do you have to twist or clip vined crops?

To ensure that young plants grow upwards, they are tied up with twine. In this way, a plant does not collapse under the weight of the crop, such as a bell pepper or tomato, which hangs from the plant. This prevents kinks or tears of the plant and loss of quality of the crop. Twisting and clipping are two different techniques with the same goal. Which one you will use depends on several factors.

Advantages of twisting and clipping

Twisting or clipping: there is no unambiguous answer to the question which method is better for plants. Every crop is suitable for clipping, but twisting is not suitable for every crop. For example, twisting is not recommended for thick stems. However, thick stems are sometimes seasonal, which means you can combine clipping with twisting. 

Cost-wise, there is also no clear "winner". Twisting results in higher labor costs, but with clipping you have to deal with (higher) material and waste costs. However, twisting also has some risks, which can increase the chance of damage (costs). Do you have very experienced twisters? Then you limit this risk. With clipping you are not "bothered" by this, because anyone can do this without any experience.
                                         Twisting  
 Clipping  
Material costs
+
Labor costs-+
Twisting
+-
Expertise
-+
Speed-+
Sustainability +-
Risk of plant damage-+
Growth delay-+

Twisting: the pros and cons

Pros
  • No material costs (but labor) 
  • Sustainable
Cons
  • Requires more experience
  • Takes a relatively large amount of labor/time (goes slower). Clipping one hectare with two twisters takes an average of 45 hours.
  • Chance of damage and breakage of the growth point is greater (if the growth point breaks off, this results in a growth delay for the crop of up to eight weeks).
  • Bigger chance of unnecessary stress on the plant due to the twisting of the stem.

Clipping: the pros and cons

Pros
  • Can be learned quickly
  • Less chance of damage/breakage
  • Can be directed generatively
  • Goes faster. Clipping one hectare with two clippers takes an average of 34 hours
Cons
  • Purchase costs
  • Higher waste costs
  • Less durable

Twisting and the twisting technique

Twisting is a special technique but causes the growth of the plant to slow down, because you "pinch" the stem and thus reduce the supply of nutrients. The risk is that if you apply it the wrong way, it is harmful to the plant. Twisting is a lot slower than clipping. When twisting, try to reduce movement of the head of the plant as much as possible. You need to take the weight of the plant and then twist the twine around the stem by moving the leaves in an upward motion with your free fingers.
Do not twist the twine around each leaf of a tomato plant. Certainly not if you have kinks in your stem. This leads to breaking of the head of the plant or to badly damaged cells.
When clipping you place a clip on the plant and the twine, without having to twist the plant. The big advantage here is that, in contrast to twisting, you do not squeeze the stem of the plant. So there is no growth delay.

The placement of the clip is important: you should always place it under the leaf and never directly above or below a growing leaf because of its strength. In cucumbers it is just below the leaf. An advantage of clipping cucumbers is that you do not have to make a tight twist so that the stem does not slide down.

Clipping with thick stems

Some crops don't like to be twisted because the stems are too thick. As soon as the employees twist it, the plant breaks. In this case it is better to clip these crops instead of twisting them.

The influence of daylight

The day length and thus the amount of daylight that the plant receives, influences the thickness of the stem. In cold winter periods with relatively short days, the stems of a crop are relatively thicker. In the spring and summer, the number of hours of daylight increases sharply, causing the plant to grow more in length. As a result, you may twist in the spring and summer, but clip in the colder periods.

Fact: one hour longer of light gives an average of 1% more growth.


Regulation of growth with LED
With assimilation lighting or LED lighting you regulate the irradiation of light. This allows you to extend the natural daylight period and thus influence the growth (and thickness) of the plant. Assimilation lighting, along with irrigation, heat, CO2 and crop treatments, plays an increasingly important role. Together this affects the growth of the plant and thus clipping and twisting.

Read more about choosing assimilation lights or how to maintain your grow light installation.

Trend: more and more growers are opting for clipping

More and more growers are currently opting for clipping instead of twisting. This is largely due to the labor and expertise required. Twisting is usually done by trained employees, while almost anyone - untrained - can clip. Employees who specialize in twisting are increasingly harder to find. In addition, twisting also costs relatively more labor. Discover the assortiment tomato stem support clips and request a quotation easily. Wondering which clips you should use? Our specialist wrote an article about How to choose the right clips for tomato plant support.

Combining twisting and clipping

Both techniques have advantages. You do not have to choose between these two techniques, you can also combine them. An advantage to combining the two techniques is to steer the crop generatively or vegetatively.

Generative pulse by twisting
Do you have vegetative plants, but would you like to give a generative pulse so the plant produces more fruit? Then twisting is the solution. Twisting causes the plant to experience a kind of "pain", causing it to create "stress" which results in the produce of more fruits. 

Vegetative pulse by clipping
Do you have a mainly generative plant that you want to give a vegetative pulse? Then the opposite works and you can choose for clipping.

Choosing for sustainability

Are you opting for sustainability? Then twisting is a good option. Because then, unlike clipping, you don't have to deal with material costs and therefore no waste costs. However, nowadays there are more biodegradable clips on the market. Read more about the pros and cons of bio clips.

Do you want to test the products first?

Request a free product sample! Royal Brinkman knows how hard it is to make the right decision between many products. To help you make the right choice, Royal Brinkman offers to send a sample for a selection of our products to our customers. A product sample enables you to check whether the products fits your needs before deciding to buy it.

Request your sample now
Contact form
Can't find your answer? Fill out the contact form and our specialist Martin Meuldijk will get back to you. On weekdays, even within 24 hours.

Twisting versus clipping | The differences

Twisting and clipping are two techniques that are being used in cultivation to ensure that young plants grow in height. The choice between these techniques depends on several factors. It’s also possible to combine the two techniques.
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Martin Meuldijk, product specialist crop rotation
Martin Meuldijk
Specialist Crop Rotation | May 20, 2022 | 4 min. reading time
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valent clip tomato
Topics in this article

Why do you have to twist or clip vined crops?

To ensure that young plants grow upwards, they are tied up with twine. In this way, a plant does not collapse under the weight of the crop, such as a bell pepper or tomato, which hangs from the plant. This prevents kinks or tears of the plant and loss of quality of the crop. Twisting and clipping are two different techniques with the same goal. Which one you will use depends on several factors.

Advantages of twisting and clipping

Twisting or clipping: there is no unambiguous answer to the question which method is better for plants. Every crop is suitable for clipping, but twisting is not suitable for every crop. For example, twisting is not recommended for thick stems. However, thick stems are sometimes seasonal, which means you can combine clipping with twisting. 

Cost-wise, there is also no clear "winner". Twisting results in higher labor costs, but with clipping you have to deal with (higher) material and waste costs. However, twisting also has some risks, which can increase the chance of damage (costs). Do you have very experienced twisters? Then you limit this risk. With clipping you are not "bothered" by this, because anyone can do this without any experience.
                                         Twisting  
 Clipping  
Material costs
+
Labor costs-+
Twisting
+-
Expertise
-+
Speed-+
Sustainability +-
Risk of plant damage-+
Growth delay-+

Twisting: the pros and cons

Pros
  • No material costs (but labor) 
  • Sustainable
Cons
  • Requires more experience
  • Takes a relatively large amount of labor/time (goes slower). Clipping one hectare with two twisters takes an average of 45 hours.
  • Chance of damage and breakage of the growth point is greater (if the growth point breaks off, this results in a growth delay for the crop of up to eight weeks).
  • Bigger chance of unnecessary stress on the plant due to the twisting of the stem.

Clipping: the pros and cons

Pros
  • Can be learned quickly
  • Less chance of damage/breakage
  • Can be directed generatively
  • Goes faster. Clipping one hectare with two clippers takes an average of 34 hours
Cons
  • Purchase costs
  • Higher waste costs
  • Less durable

Twisting and the twisting technique

Twisting is a special technique but causes the growth of the plant to slow down, because you "pinch" the stem and thus reduce the supply of nutrients. The risk is that if you apply it the wrong way, it is harmful to the plant. Twisting is a lot slower than clipping. When twisting, try to reduce movement of the head of the plant as much as possible. You need to take the weight of the plant and then twist the twine around the stem by moving the leaves in an upward motion with your free fingers.
Do not twist the twine around each leaf of a tomato plant. Certainly not if you have kinks in your stem. This leads to breaking of the head of the plant or to badly damaged cells.
When clipping you place a clip on the plant and the twine, without having to twist the plant. The big advantage here is that, in contrast to twisting, you do not squeeze the stem of the plant. So there is no growth delay.

The placement of the clip is important: you should always place it under the leaf and never directly above or below a growing leaf because of its strength. In cucumbers it is just below the leaf. An advantage of clipping cucumbers is that you do not have to make a tight twist so that the stem does not slide down.

Clipping with thick stems

Some crops don't like to be twisted because the stems are too thick. As soon as the employees twist it, the plant breaks. In this case it is better to clip these crops instead of twisting them.

The influence of daylight

The day length and thus the amount of daylight that the plant receives, influences the thickness of the stem. In cold winter periods with relatively short days, the stems of a crop are relatively thicker. In the spring and summer, the number of hours of daylight increases sharply, causing the plant to grow more in length. As a result, you may twist in the spring and summer, but clip in the colder periods.

Fact: one hour longer of light gives an average of 1% more growth.


Regulation of growth with LED

With assimilation lighting or LED lighting you regulate the irradiation of light. This allows you to extend the natural daylight period and thus influence the growth (and thickness) of the plant. Assimilation lighting, along with irrigation, heat, CO2 and crop treatments, plays an increasingly important role. Together this affects the growth of the plant and thus clipping and twisting.
Read more about choosing assimilation lights or how to maintain your grow light installation.

Trend: more growers are opting for clipping

More and more growers are currently opting for clipping instead of twisting. This is largely due to the labor and expertise required. Twisting is usually done by trained employees, while almost anyone - untrained - can clip. Employees who specialize in twisting are increasingly harder to find. In addition, twisting also costs relatively more labor. Discover the assortiment tomato stem support clips and request a quotation easily. Wondering which clips you should use? Our specialist wrote an article about How to choose the right clips for tomato plant support.

Combining twisting and clipping

Both techniques have advantages. You do not have to choose between these two techniques, you can also combine them. An advantage to combining the two techniques is to steer the crop generatively or vegetatively.

Generative pulse by twisting
Do you have vegetative plants, but would you like to give a generative pulse so the plant produces more fruit? Then twisting is the solution. Twisting causes the plant to experience a kind of "pain", causing it to create "stress" which results in the produce of more fruits. 

Vegetative pulse by clipping
Do you have a mainly generative plant that you want to give a vegetative pulse? Then the opposite works and you can choose for clipping.

Choosing for sustainability

Are you opting for sustainability? Then twisting is a good option. Because then, unlike clipping, you don't have to deal with material costs and therefore no waste costs. However, nowadays there are more biodegradable clips on the market. Read more about the pros and cons of bio clips.

Do you want to test the products first?

Request a free product sample! Royal Brinkman knows how hard it is to make the right decision between many products. To help you make the right choice, Royal Brinkman offers to send a sample for a selection of our products to our customers. A product sample enables you to check whether the products fits your needs before deciding to buy it.

Request your sample now
Contact form
Can't find your answer? Fill out the contact form and our specialist Martin Meuldijk will get back to you. On weekdays, even within 24 hours.
Martin Meuldijk, product specialist in crop rotation
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