Handling the Lone Truss

[z_willus_d]

I have a specific question/topic that I haven't seen written about. The scenario is (as matches in my garden):

• Tomato plants, vines trained upward (limited to four or less trunks, not that it matters)
• Tomatoes took a beating early on in the season, so many of the lower (1-2') branches took disease and were removed.
• On a few plants, their first truss managed to set one or two fruit(s)
• In those cases, I skipped over the branches that surrounded the lower fruit(s) on first truss, whether diseased or not.

So, in the above situation, I am allowing potentially disease spreading lower branches to remain intact with the belief that they are somehow necessary to aid in the development of those adjacent fruits. Is that sound reasoning, or would it be better to remove the semi-diseased branches/leaves? Does fruit require branches in proximity to grow/ripen, or will the fruit be fine without nearby branches/leaves?

Appreciate any thoughts on the trade-offs of leaving the semi-diseased branches intact vs. removal, and what each option offers to affect those early, small fruits.

Thanks,
Naysen