Does topping my tomato plants benefit or hurt fruit production

Cherokee_Motley · July 11, 2009

Hi --

I have a few plants which are now 6' plus and starting to come out of their cages. I have topped them in the past to keep them from tipping over but this year I was wondering if this helps or hurts the plant? Does fruit get bigger? Will the plant grow flowers and set fruit lower on the plant?

Thanks in Advance....

**nctomatoman** · July 11, 2009

Once a main stem reaches a point where you top it, you are left with whatever flower clusters formed lower on that stem. Unless you let some lower side shoots (suckers) develop - which will produce blossoms, hence fruit - you've stopped the fruiting potential of the plant.

So let's say someone grows an indeterminate and stakes it and limits it to one main stem (and prunes off all suckers). That main stem will pop out a blossom cluster intermittently up the stem. They open, some pollinate, you get your tomatoes. Once that plant is topped at X feet, the main stem will not produce additional flower clusters. But if you let a sucker - or two or three, etc - advance lower down on the plant, each of them is essentially an additional main fruiting stem.

That help?? Some have found that by thinning blossom clusters and limiting growth of the main stem, and controlling suckers, you will get larger (but fewer, of course) fruit. I've not found that to be the case, however.

July 11, 2009	#1
Cherokee_Motley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 18	Does topping my tomato plants benefit or hurt fruit production Hi -- I have a few plants which are now 6' plus and starting to come out of their cages. I have topped them in the past to keep them from tipping over but this year I was wondering if this helps or hurts the plant? Does fruit get bigger? Will the plant grow flowers and set fruit lower on the plant? Thanks in Advance.... __________________ To grow a heirloom tomato is to grow a little taste of history.

July 11, 2009	#2
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Once a main stem reaches a point where you top it, you are left with whatever flower clusters formed lower on that stem. Unless you let some lower side shoots (suckers) develop - which will produce blossoms, hence fruit - you've stopped the fruiting potential of the plant. So let's say someone grows an indeterminate and stakes it and limits it to one main stem (and prunes off all suckers). That main stem will pop out a blossom cluster intermittently up the stem. They open, some pollinate, you get your tomatoes. Once that plant is topped at X feet, the main stem will not produce additional flower clusters. But if you let a sucker - or two or three, etc - advance lower down on the plant, each of them is essentially an additional main fruiting stem. That help?? Some have found that by thinning blossom clusters and limiting growth of the main stem, and controlling suckers, you will get larger (but fewer, of course) fruit. I've not found that to be the case, however. __________________ Craig