What Impact Does Pruning Tomato Plants Have on Total Production? - Page 2

tgplp · April 4, 2012

I prune all the lower leaves off when I first transplant, and after that I just try and prune all suckers once or twice a week. I usually miss a sucker or two and let that develop, so I end up with two to three central stems. I love pruning, because it is fun to spend time with your plants and you can catch diseases early. Of course, last year I only had about fifteen plants, and this year I am doubling that. So... we'll see how much I like pruning this year.

Taryn

b54red · April 5, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

I tried pruning out suckers last year for the first time, and I will not be repeating that exercise. We get powdery mildew pretty bad in this area and it gradually kills all the foliage. That's what nails veggies here, not frost. By midsummer the most susceptible varieties were toast - they just didn't have the foliage to soldier on. I thought by giving them more air circulation it would be helpful...ooops.

The mild bleach solution that I have mentioned in the past should work to stop the mildew once it gets started if you don't wait too long before using it. It works for me on cucumbers and squash but once foliage gets powdery mildew it is toast whether you treat it or not. I treat it with a full gallon of water to which I add 7 to 8 ounces of regular strength bleach and spray all the surfaces and the mulch or ground under the plant with a very fine mist late in the evening. Any foliage that is badly infected will shortly dry up but the spread of the powdery mildew is usually stopped or slowed dramatically. If it returns I just do it again.

I almost never have powdery mildew on tomatoes but it gets on all my cucurbits and sometimes my onions down here. I used Daconil on them last year and didn't really get it til I was tired of spraying the plants every week and after every rain, so I assume it is a fairly good preventative for powdery mildew. I will certainly be using it again this year.

Jeannine Anne · April 5, 2012

I didn't prune last year which for me is very unusual and I regretted it prettyy quickly.

The plants outgrew the space I had, the yeild was no better and in some cases less and it was a mess in the greenhouse.

This year I will be back to pruning apart from the Dwarf Project plants.

If you intend to remove suckers, do it when they are very small, they rub off with your thumb when tiny, once an inch long just pinch them off with your thumb and first finger.

They can be grown in much smaller containers when pruned which is ideal for a greenhouse.

XX Jeannine

XX Jeannine

celerystalksmidnite · April 5, 2012

A stray thought...I wonder if the larger fruit size that is thought to result from pruning could also be achieved by simply pinching off a certain percentage of flower clusters. That way, you have more foliage, which presumably would mean more plant energy, going into fewer fruit.

It would also be easier, possibly, to pinch flower clusters than suckers. Perhaps not.

feldon30 · April 6, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne

I didn't prune last year which for me is very unusual and I regretted it prettyy quickly.

The plants outgrew the space I had, the yield was no better and in some cases less and it was a mess in the greenhouse.

This year I will be back to pruning apart from the Dwarf Project plants.

I think we're talking about a special case as far as greenhouse growing and plant spacing.

I don't prune, but I'm also growing in a raised bed garden with no greenhouse, and the plants have 28" spacing.

OldHondaNut · April 8, 2012

I notice that Johnny's has a video and they recommend pruning to two central stems. You can see it on their website and if I recall correctly, it was the first sucker near the bottom of the plant that they allow to grow. They do this on all their indeterminates.

Mudman · April 8, 2012

Here are my reasons for pruning. (I prune to 1 main leader and tie to rebar)
1. Keeps fruit up so slugs don't eat them.
2. Saves space.
3. Saves money, if you buy or build cages
4. I like spending the time in garden looking for suckers, and as mentioned before by others, I often catch diseases and pests very early because of this.
5. Looks nice and organized
6. Never have to look for fruit inside of a bush on my knees
7. I tried several different cages, and built several of my own, and every year my tomatoes grew very large and then got knocked over by the first big storm of the season

dice · April 16, 2012

Warm climate pruning of fresh market tomatoes in Asia:
http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/TomPrune.pdf

(They want to grow a set number of clusters per plant, with 4 fruit
per cluster, except for cherry tomatoes, where they do not limit the
fruit per cluster. Basically they do this to maximize the number of
fruit that look good on a fruit display at a fresh-market vendor.)

luke · April 16, 2012

I'm cleaning out a few of the lower lateral stems on my plants below the flower clusters, but I have a hard time cutting off too many. It just seems that a plant will need some vegetation to be healthy.

I do have multiples of several varieties, so I might get aggressive on a few.

b54red · April 17, 2012

Luke I will soon know how severe pruning affects production and everything else. I have around 60 plants out that I am keeping to only one stem and they should start setting fruit very soon. I also have a couple of beds where the plants are only getting limited pruning for airflow.

snippits · April 17, 2012

I tried pruning one season on indeterminate tomatoes, and I will never do it again. Production went down. Sure I had more #1 tomatoes with less culling, but a #2 tastes as good as a #1. It's just not as pretty.

celerystalksmidnite · April 17, 2012

What seems to be needed is some experimental side-by-side plant comparisons. Any volunteers? I'd be willing to experiment a little next spring. Too late for this year, as most of the plants are big and bushy and full of tomatoes.

Mudman · April 17, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by celerystalksmidnite

What seems to be needed is some experimental side-by-side plant comparisons. Any volunteers? I'd be willing to experiment a little next spring. Too late for this year, as most of the plants are big and bushy and full of tomatoes.

I did it last year but did not weigh the fruit off each plant. I might try it this year. That is as big of a commitment as you are getting from me at this point. I will know more when I plant.

janezee · April 18, 2012

dice,
do you prune? How much? I'm planning on doing quite a bit of pruning,
but I'm not a pruner by nature.
OTOH, once I get going, I like to have a basket full to go to the compost pile.

I really have no choice. I just can't fit 70 tomatoes in my garden if I don't.
I had 8 last year.

janezee · April 18, 2012

pdxwindjammer,
Tamara,
I haven't specifically pruned to see about production or disease prevention. However, I did it to remove leaves going down to
late blight. That's a hopeless job. I'll see if I can farm out a couple
of varieties to my mother or friends to have room in my yard for a side by side test.

What do you think? A cherry, a Jaune Flammé? Oh, I know!
How about the biggie?

Opinions, anyone? What fun!

j

April 5, 2012	#19
celerystalksmidnite Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: SE Texas Zone 8 Posts: 101	A stray thought...I wonder if the larger fruit size that is thought to result from pruning could also be achieved by simply pinching off a certain percentage of flower clusters. That way, you have more foliage, which presumably would mean more plant energy, going into fewer fruit. It would also be easier, possibly, to pinch flower clusters than suckers. Perhaps not. __________________ MCB Last edited by celerystalksmidnite; April 5, 2012 at 07:59 PM. Reason: Columbo always had something to add, too.

April 8, 2012	#22
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Here are my reasons for pruning. (I prune to 1 main leader and tie to rebar) 1. Keeps fruit up so slugs don't eat them. 2. Saves space. 3. Saves money, if you buy or build cages 4. I like spending the time in garden looking for suckers, and as mentioned before by others, I often catch diseases and pests very early because of this. 5. Looks nice and organized 6. Never have to look for fruit inside of a bush on my knees 7. I tried several different cages, and built several of my own, and every year my tomatoes grew very large and then got knocked over by the first big storm of the season __________________ Mike

April 16, 2012	#23
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Warm climate pruning of fresh market tomatoes in Asia: http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/TomPrune.pdf (They want to grow a set number of clusters per plant, with 4 fruit per cluster, except for cherry tomatoes, where they do not limit the fruit per cluster. Basically they do this to maximize the number of fruit that look good on a fruit display at a fresh-market vendor.) __________________ -- alias

April 17, 2012	#27
celerystalksmidnite Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: SE Texas Zone 8 Posts: 101	What seems to be needed is some experimental side-by-side plant comparisons. Any volunteers? I'd be willing to experiment a little next spring. Too late for this year, as most of the plants are big and bushy and full of tomatoes. __________________ MCB

April 4, 2012	#16
tgplp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pacific North West, zone 8a Posts: 510	I prune all the lower leaves off when I first transplant, and after that I just try and prune all suckers once or twice a week. I usually miss a sucker or two and let that develop, so I end up with two to three central stems. I love pruning, because it is fun to spend time with your plants and you can catch diseases early. Of course, last year I only had about fifteen plants, and this year I am doubling that. So... we'll see how much I like pruning this year. Taryn

April 5, 2012	#18
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	I didn't prune last year which for me is very unusual and I regretted it prettyy quickly. The plants outgrew the space I had, the yeild was no better and in some cases less and it was a mess in the greenhouse. This year I will be back to pruning apart from the Dwarf Project plants. If you intend to remove suckers, do it when they are very small, they rub off with your thumb when tiny, once an inch long just pinch them off with your thumb and first finger. They can be grown in much smaller containers when pruned which is ideal for a greenhouse. XX Jeannine XX Jeannine

April 8, 2012	#21
OldHondaNut Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Zone 8a Posts: 120	I notice that Johnny's has a video and they recommend pruning to two central stems. You can see it on their website and if I recall correctly, it was the first sucker near the bottom of the plant that they allow to grow. They do this on all their indeterminates.

April 16, 2012	#24
luke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 177	I'm cleaning out a few of the lower lateral stems on my plants below the flower clusters, but I have a hard time cutting off too many. It just seems that a plant will need some vegetation to be healthy. I do have multiples of several varieties, so I might get aggressive on a few.

April 17, 2012	#25
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Luke I will soon know how severe pruning affects production and everything else. I have around 60 plants out that I am keeping to only one stem and they should start setting fruit very soon. I also have a couple of beds where the plants are only getting limited pruning for airflow.

April 17, 2012	#26
snippits Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: NC Posts: 77	I tried pruning one season on indeterminate tomatoes, and I will never do it again. Production went down. Sure I had more #1 tomatoes with less culling, but a #2 tastes as good as a #1. It's just not as pretty.

April 18, 2012	#29
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	dice, do you prune? How much? I'm planning on doing quite a bit of pruning, but I'm not a pruner by nature. OTOH, once I get going, I like to have a basket full to go to the compost pile. I really have no choice. I just can't fit 70 tomatoes in my garden if I don't. I had 8 last year.