Thinning: Meaning, Importance, Advantages and Disadvantages

Thinning in Agriculture

In agriculture, every crop has its own seed rate, which refers to the numbers of seeds that have been scientifically and globally agreed to be planted per hole for a given crops. For example, the seed rate for maize is two to three seeds per hole. However, due to fear of seed failure in the field, the effect of climate change, the incidence of pests and diseases, and farmers’ inability to carry out seed testing to determine seed vigor and germination, most farmers increase the seed rates of some of crops. This is done to allow all the seeds to germinate, so as to remove the weak and unhealthy seedlings to aid proper growth or avoid competition.

Therefore, the agronomic practice of gradually removing the weak and unhealthy seedlings from the plant stand to give room for the remaining seedlings to grow, and develop is called thinning. Professionally, It is a post-planting operations which involve removing the weak or healthy seedlings from the population to allow the remaining seedlings to have adequate space, light, nutrients, and water for proper growth and productivity.

Thinning is one of the most difficult agronomic practices to be executed on the farm because the practice is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and energy-sapping. However, this agronomics practices help to helps to prevents overcrowding, encourage proper development, reduce competition for resources, and improve the size and quality of seed during harvest.

Thinning should be done when the seedlings are still tender, usually two to three weeks after full germination has been attained. The practice requires skills and precautions because if not properly done, it can lead to the pulling out or destruction of the healthy plant.

Tip for Thinning in Agriculture

Thinning require some level of skills and diligence, without this, economics and healthy seedling will be disturbed, leading to thinning shock, which may take a few days to cure. Some tips to observe when carrying thinning should include the following.

Ensure that the seed rates are overpopulated before thinning.
Identify the weak seedling, and thin out a thins plant, and dwarfness or shortness compared to other members in the population per stand.
Identify and remove pests and diseases infested seedlings, which includes hollow leaves, damaged shoot, burning tips, and more.
It should be execute or carry out in the morning or cool in the evening, this is to present a thinning shock to other plants.
To remove the said seedling, use a hand fork to loosen the soil and detached the weak plants from the group without demanding the healthy plant.
Where the seedlings cannot pull out safely, use scissors or a pruning knife to cut off the plants or the seedling close to the ground instead of pulling the seedling.
Ensure that the remaining seedlings are gently watered immediately to reestablish the disturbed crops.

Examples of Thinning in Different Crops

Maize and Rice: In the farmland, densely populated seedlings of maize and rice can be thinned out by removing the weak maize plants and leaving the healthiest plants to remain and grow.
Pepper and Tomatoes: even after being transplanted in the main field, weak seedling of pepper and tomatoes can be remove to enable the healthiest plants to remaining and grow.
Vegetable: vegetables such as amaranthus, water leaves, and more that are mostly sown through broadcasting can be thinned to create adequate space for the healthiest plants to develop at the correct distance apart.
Plantation crops: In a plantation, closely packed or poorly spaced crops like oil palm (Elais guineensis), rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), and mango Mangifera indica can be selectively removed to give room for the remaining plant to grow with more space, promoting better space for adequate growth and overall quality of fruit.
Forestry: In forests, thinning involves selectively removing some trees to give the remaining ones more growing space, promoting better diameter growth, and improving the overall quality of the timber.

Importance of Thinning in Agriculture.

The benefits of this practices in agriculture cannot be overemphasized in ensuring proper growth and productivity of crops. Some of the benefits of this practices in agriculture are enumerated by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Increases the yield of the crop, since the practice helps to reduce competition among plants. The available plant received adequate care, which boosts the growth and development, thereby increasing productivity. As the remaining plants have adequate space, light, water, and nutrients, better growth and development yields better quality. The practice leads to proper crop development, reduces competition for resources, and improves the size and quality of crops.
Reduces competition: It gives space for the healthy plant to thrive by removing weak and unhealthy seedlings from the population. This ensures that seedlings have enough space and available nutrients for effective growth and productivity. When seedlings are overcrowded or overpopulated, they tend to jostle for the available resources such as water, light, and nutrients, competing with the seedlings in the hole. But the health of a thinning neighbor’s seedling or plant has enough space to access essential resources for growth and productivity.
Improves the quality of farm produce: whenever crops compete for space, water, light, and nutrients, the seeds or fruit quality of that plant tends to be small and poorly developed. However, in a well-thinned farmland, plants have sufficient space and resources to develop seeds or fruits.
Enhance the market value of crops: the produce from overcrowded plants tends to be small and poorly developed, while higher-quality fruits, vegetables, or roots help to increase the market value of agricultural produce, thereby increasing the farmer’s income/
Reduce harboring of pests: overcrowded seedlings or plants serve as a home for pest infestation. When crops are spaced properly, this reduces the plant population to the required quantity, thereby creating enough space and light between neighboring plants, which helps to reduce the presence of pests.
Enhanced plant vigor: well-thinned plants have adequate space, light, water, and nutrients for stronger and healthier growth. This enables crops to grow better and develop healthy leaves and shoots. This enables crops to resist pests and disease infestation.

Advantages of Thinning

The following are the advantages of thinning of agricultural crops. They are

It increases the yields of agricultural crops.
It increases the quality of agricultural produce such as fruits, seeds, and roots.
It enhances plant vigor.
Reduce harboring of pests.
Enhance the quality and market value of crops.

Disadvantages of Thinning

The following are the disadvantages of thinning of agricultural crops. they are

It increases the cost of production as more resources will be invested.
It is time-consuming and energy-intensive.
It may lead to plant shock if not properly executed.
It may lead to pests and infestation if the remaining plant is wounded, thereby serving as a home for pest and disease infestation.
Overcrowded crops, i.e, unthin seedlings, lead to poor seed, fruit, and root development.

Types of Thinning in Agriculture

There are different types of crop removal in agriculture. They are classified based on the Methods of Selection or Removal.

Methods of Selection

Low Thinning: Within a plant population per stand, some seedlings in the hole or stands may be weak, dying or dead. Farmers may need to remove these types of seedlings to give room for the healthier plants to survive and ultimately reproduce. Hence, this method involves removing dead and dying seedlings from the population per stand to allow the healthier plants to develop into high-value crops. The advantages of this types of thinning is that it improves the vigor and growth of the healthy plant, and prevent waste of resources. The disadvantage is that it is time-consuming.
Crown Thinning: In some cases, some plants in the stands per hole, may be very healthy and grow vigorously to overshadow the other. This shooter, an overgrown seedling, needs to be removed to allow uniform growth of the remaining plant. This practice is called crown thinning. It is therefore involves removing the largest and most dominant seedlings in the stand which negative impact on the crown development of other crops. it promotes uniformity in the growth of crops in the field and aid adequate canopy formation.
Free Thinning: This tthis methods involves selectively removing designated numbers or group of desire seedlings from the stands to prevent competition or reduce pressure on the neighboring plants, thereby allowing them to grow and developed into healthy future crops or plant. For example, in the broadcasted rice farmland or amarunthus seed bed, certain numbers of seedling can be deliberately remove from the plant population to reduce competition, thereby allowing them to grow and developed into healthy future crops or plant. Free thinning help to healthy developed of the remaining seedlings.
Variable Density Thinning: As the name implies, “Variable density thinning, “in involve selectively executing or carrying out thinning in some area while deliberately avoiding thinning in other part or portion of the farm. Variable density thinning is mostly practice in a research farm or in a plantation. The aim of this types of thinning is to promote biodiversity and produce crops or trees with varying degrees of size.
Diameter –Limit Thinning: This type of thinning is carried out based on the diameter of the seedlings in the farmland. In this type of thinning, the farmer removes seedlings that are above or below a certain diameter. The advantage of this type of crops removal is that it promotes uniform growth and support effective canopy development. The disadvantage is that determining the diameter of the seedling before removing it is time consuming.
Ecological Thinning: This methods is also called pre-commercial thinning. This involves removing seedlings that have little or no economic value, given room for the economic seedlings to grow healthier. For example, an oil palm seedling growing in a rubber plantation is of no economic value to the farmer.

Method of Seedling Removal

Mechanical Thinning: This method involves removing seedlings from the farm in a regular pattern. For example, sometime, seedling planted in a row may sometimes be poorly panted, or space, in such a case, the farmer may need to remove the seedling completely, irrespective of their characteristic. Note: This type of types is a non-selective method that doesn’t take into consideration the health and quality of the seedlings
Selected Thinning: This is opposite of mechanical thinning. While mechanical thinning doesn’t take into consideration the characteristics of the plants or seedling before removing them. Selective types involves the removing seedlings based on specific characteristics such as size, health status, or the position of the plant in the stand.
Compensation Thinning: In this methods, the farmers remove seedlings that are unlikely to survive naturally, thereby giving room for the healthy seedlings better chance to thrive. It is a thinning based on natural mortality. The advantage of compensation thinning is that it prevent wastage of resources, prevent spread of pest and disease (since a dying plant is a host to a certain disease or pest), and ensure that only the healthy plant survives. The demerit of this type of thinning is that scouting for a dyeing plant is time-consuming.
Chemical Methods of Thinning:This types of thinning involves the use of agro agrochemicals that are lethal or harmful to seedling. The chemical are injected to remove the undesirable seedlings from the stands and create adequate space for the healthy plant to survive.

Summary of contents

Meaning of Thinning,

This is an agronomic practice that involves the gradual removal of weak and unhealthy seedlings from the plants stand to avoid competition and make room for healthy plants to grow and develop. or It is a post-planting operations which involve removing the weak or healthy seedlings from the population to allow the remaining seedlings to have adequate space, light, nutrients, and water for proper growth and productivity.

Importance of Thinning

It increases the yield of the crop.
It helps to reduce competition among crops.
It improves the quality of farm produce.
It enhances the market value of crops.
It reduces the activities of pests.
It enhanced plant vigor.

Advantage and Disadvantage of Thinning

S/no	Advantages	disadvantages
1	Increase the yield of agricultural crops	Increase the cost of production as more resources are invested in thinning
2	Improves the quality of agricultural produce such as fruits, seeds and roots	Time and energy consuming process
3	Enhance plant vigor	may cause plant shock, if not properly executed
4	Reduce harboring of pest	May serve as breeding ground for pest and disease if plants are wounded or not thin.
5	Enhance the quality and market value of crops.	Failure to thin lead to overcrowding, resulting in poor seed, fruit and root development

Types of Thinning

There are different types of this agronomic in agriculture. They are classified based on the Methods of Selection or Removal

Methods of Selection

Crown
Free
Variable density .
Diameter –limit
Ecological

Method of Seedling Removal

Mechanical
Selected .
Compensation
Chemical methods

Frequently Ask Question

What is thinning in agriculture?

is thinning in agriculture is a post-planting operations which involve removing the weak or healthy seedlings from the population to allow the remaining seedlings to have adequate space, light, nutrients, and water for proper growth and productivity.

What is thinning out in agriculture?

Thinning out in agriculture is an agronomic practice that involves the gradual removal of weak and unhealthy seedlings from the plants stand to avoid competition and make room for the remaining healthy plants to grow and develop.

What are the benefit of thinning in agriculture?

The benefit of removing overcrowded seedlings in agriculture are:

It increases the yield of the crop.
It helps to reduce competition among crops.
It improves the quality of farm produce.
It enhances the market value of crops.
It reduces the activities of pests.
It enhanced plant vigor

When should thin

Thinning should be done two -three weeks after full germination has been attain, and when the seedlings are overcrowded.