Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pinch off the top bud or shoot of a plant: This is a specific gardening and agricultural technique. The action involves using fingers or tools to remove the terminal bud (the growing tip) of a plant. This is done to encourage the plant to grow bushier, produce more side branches (lateral shoots), and often to increase fruit or flower yield, rather than growing tall and spindly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người nông dân bấm ngọn cây đậu để cây ra nhiều cành hơn. (The farmer pinches off the shoot of the bean plant so it grows more branches.)
  • Bạn nên bấm ngọn cây ớt khi nó cao khoảng 30cm. (You should pinch the top off the chili plant when it is about 30cm tall.)
  • Kỹ thuật bấm ngọn giúp cây cà chua khỏe mạnh và cho nhiều quả. (The shoot pinching technique helps tomato plants stay healthy and produce more fruit.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is almost exclusively used in the context of horticulture, agriculture, and gardening. It describes a deliberate, manual action for plant training and yield management.
• It implies a precise action targeting the very tip of the main stem.

Variants and Related Words

• Tỉa cành / Tỉa chồi (Verb): To prune branches / to prune shoots. This is a broader term for pruning, which may include removing side shoots, leaves, or branches, not just the terminal bud.
• Ngắt ngọn (Verb): To break off the top. This is a more general phrase that can be used similarly to "bấm ngọn" but may imply a less precise or technical action.

Synonyms

• Pinch (out): To remove the growing tip of a plant with the fingers.
• Top: (In gardening) To remove the top part of a plant to encourage bushy growth.
• Prune the tip: A descriptive synonym focusing on the act of pruning the very end of the shoot.

Related Phrases

• Bấm ngọn, tỉa cành: A common paired phrase meaning "to pinch the tips and prune the branches," describing comprehensive plant care.
  • Công việc chính của mùa này là bấm ngọn, tỉa cành cho vườn nho. (The main task this season is to pinch shoots and prune branches for the vineyard.)

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms using "bấm ngọn," the concept can be metaphorically related to the idea of "nipping something in the bud," which means to stop something at an early stage before it develops into a problem. However, this English idiom is not a direct translation of the Vietnamese agricultural term.

1. Pinch off buds (shoot) of