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Harvesting
Correct harvesting is key to producing good quality vanilla.
Beans are ready for harvesting 8 – 9 months after pollination. Beans must not be harvested until they are ripe. Early harvesting of vanilla must be prevented. Immature beans give poor quality vanilla.
The start date for harvesting will be officially declared by the Industry Association. Harvest dates will vary across Uganda. Vanilla will be inspected prior to the declaration of the harvest date. Prior to the declaration of the harvest date, no vanilla can be harvested, cured or sold.
In Mukono (and Uganda in general) harvesting will be undertaken in July/August (main season) and December/January (Second season). The harvest is spread over a period of 2 – 3 months. Farmers must walk through the garden or plantation on a frequent basis, picking the ripe beans. Harvesting Method Beans must be picked one by one from the vanilla plant as they ripen, as the flowers on the cluster do not open at the same time. In much the same way as it takes 15-20 days from the opening of the first flower to the last, so does the ripening of beans. If the whole cluster is picked at once, the beans will either be half ripe, half immature, or all immature, or all ripe and over ripe. None of these options is desirable. Harvesting is usually done on a weekly basis except during peak harvesting periods when it is necessary to harvest twice a week
Pruning after harvest
Like with other crops, pruning aims at removing the unwanted parts of the plant.
When all the beans have been harvested from a hanging vine, cut off the hanging vine where it hangs down from the branch. A new shoot will already be growing from this area. This new shoot will give new vines for looping and flowering.
Take the cut hanging vines out of the plantation. These can be used for planting material, but the success rate for rooting and shoot growth may be low. In addition unhealthy and withered vines and leaves must be pruned and removed from the plantation. Such material must be buried or burnt, as they are potential sources of disease.

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