How to Prune a Tomato Plant

When you grow tomatoes, your end goal is usually to harvest as many ripe berries as possible. If growing varieties of infinitely growing or “climbing” tomato plants (Big Boy, Beef Master, most long-lived purebred varieties), you should prune unnecessary shoots and leaves to help the plant accumulate. all the nutrients in the fruit. However, excessive pruning is counterproductive for limited growing tomato varieties (Biltmore, Heinz, Patio).

Table of Contents

Determine the time to prune tomato plants

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Identify the tomato variety you are growing. Before pruning, you need to know whether the tomato plant you are growing is an infinite or a finite plant. Infinitely growing cultivars grow like vines, rely on trusses and need pruning for good growth. Finite-growing varieties do not spread but grow into bushes, and they will automatically put nutrients into the fruit without much intervention. Following are a few popular cultivars of two types:

Unlimited growing varieties: Big Boy, Beef Master, Black Prince, German Queen, most cherry tomato varieties and purebred varieties.
Limited-growing cultivars: Ace 55, Amelia, Better Bush, Biltmore, Heatmaster, Heinz Classic, Mountain Pride and Patio.

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Check for signs of yellowing foliage. One sign that it’s time to start pruning is that the branches below the first inflorescence are turning yellow. When this phenomenon occurs, you can start pruning the tree.

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Check the side shoots. Look for tiny new shoots where the branches meet the trunk of the infinitely growing tree. These shoots are called “side shoots” and need to be pruned. The side shoots left behind will absorb the nutrients from the rest of the plant and cause the plant to bear less fruit. Although they are not always harmful, removing these shoots will help the plant produce larger fruit throughout the season.

Apply the right pruning technique

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Prune off all side shoots and leaves below the first inflorescence. You should do this regardless of the tomato variety you are growing. It makes the tree stronger because the main branch of the tree will grow stronger. ^{[2] X Source of Research} When the side shoots are pruned, most of the nutrients go to the fruit instead of being wasted on the useless growing tops.

To prune a lateral bud, you can use two fingers to hold the bud and bend it back and forth until it snaps off neatly. This is easiest to do when the shoots are young and soft. Small wounds will heal quickly. This technique is called “simple pruning”.
For branches and leaves (not side shoots) growing below the first inflorescence: If in a warm climate, such as zone 9, you should wait for the branches to turn yellow. They have the effect of shading the ground until the plant matures. Conversely, if you’re growing the plant in a humid environment (such as a greenhouse), prune everything below the first inflorescence to allow for better ventilation. Humidity can make it easier for pathogens to grow, and it also makes pruning wounds take longer to dry out and the tree is more vulnerable. You can protect plants by improving ventilation.

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Leave the stout side shoots. You should not cut off the stout side shoots, as this can damage the whole plant. If these shoots are bigger than a pencil, use the “Missouri pruning” method, which involves only cutting off the tips of the side shoots, leaving 1-2 leaves for photosynthesis and protecting the developing fruit from burning. sunny. The downside here is that side shoots will grow from the branch you left behind and will need additional pruning. This is the right technique when dealing with large shoots; If the cut becomes infected, it will recede away from the main branch. This method also leaves a lateral bud to reduce shock to the plant.

Prune side shoots throughout the summer to keep the plant healthy. These shoots grow quite quickly, so you may need to prune the tree 1-2 times a week. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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For the infinitely growing tomato varieties, you should only leave 4-5 fruit-bearing flower clusters, and the remaining inflorescences need to be cut off. These are the branches that grow from the stem above the first inflorescence. 4-5 flower clusters on the tree will produce large and healthy fruit, but if more, the fruit will be small and few. Choose 4-5 sturdy inflorescences to keep and cut off all the side shoots, leaving only the top of the plant, also known as the apical bud.

Make sure that the climbing tomato cultivars are tied to the stake after blooming. Otherwise, the vines will crawl on the ground and not produce healthy fruit.
Limited varieties of tomatoes have a limited number of branches and grow naturally, so they do not need to be pruned above the inflorescence. If you do, you will be pruning the fruit-bearing branches instead of helping the tree to bear fruit.

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Remove the yellow leaves. Yellow leaves are leaves that use more sugar than they produce. As the plant begins to mature, the lower leaves will naturally turn yellow and wilt. This phenomenon is completely normal; You just need to pluck the yellow leaves from the tree when they appear. This will help keep the plant healthy and prevent disease.

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Cut off the top of the tree. For the best harvest at the end of the plant’s growing season, you need to “break” the top of the tree. About a month before the first frost is expected, or when the plant reaches the roof of the greenhouse, remove the tops of the plants. At this point in the season, the growing tomatoes don’t have much time to ripen, so all nutrients need to be transported directly to the fruit.

Advice

Finite-growing or “shrub” varieties of tomatoes do not need pruning (or support stakes). They are bred to be limited in height, produce a fruit in 2 weeks and die. The infinitely growing cultivars, also known as “climbing” tomatoes, grow as tall as a human, growing and bearing fruit all season long. Popular varieties of finite-growing tomatoes include Rutgers, Roma, Celebrity (some call it semi-finished) and Marglobe. Infinitely grown cultivars include Big Boy, Beef Master, most “cherry” tomatoes, Early Girl, and most purebred varieties. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Warning

If you smoke, wash your hands with soap and water before touching the tomato plant. Smokers can easily transmit the “tobacco mosaic virus” to tomato plants.
To avoid infecting tomato plants, you should manually pluck the buds instead of using a pruner (cuts are susceptible to infection). However, with larger, sturdier shoots, you may need to use pruning shears. Remember to disinfect your pruners thoroughly each time you use them.

Things you need

Tomato plants are growing
Clean hands
Sterilized cutting tools if necessary (hand-picking is better)

Steps

Determine the time to prune tomato plants

Apply the right pruning technique

Advice

Warning

Things you need

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