Soft pinching for increasing the yield of Leucadendron 'Safari sunset'

Cut flowers and foliage shoots of the family Proteaceae are produced in Israel. The most widespread crop is Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset,' which was introduced to Israel from New Zealand in the 1980s. 'Safari Sunset' is produced in various climatic conditions and soils. Most of the plants are grafted on a local rootstock - 'Orot' or L. galpinii. Initially the production was low - about 200,000 stems per hectare per year; we therefore looked for ways to increase the yield and quality of the product. It was found that soft pinching of the stems enhanced branching and increased the number of export quality stems per plant. The timing of pinching is crucial for obtaining large numb er and best quality of the cut branches. Under Israeli conditions pinching in April - May produces the best results - yielding 2-4 more branches per pinched stem. Later pinching decreases quality. It is important to pinch stems that are at least 10 mm in diameter. These results have been implemented by Israeli growers and have increased production to 400-700 thousand stems per hectare/year.