Tomatoes are irreplaceable important vegetables and fruits in our lives. With the improvement of people's living standards, people pay more and more attention to the quality of tomatoes. Because the quality of tomatoes sold in the market is uneven, many people are encouraged to start growing their own tomatoes. Self-produced tomatoes can not only be eaten healthily and safely, but also be picked at any time to ensure freshness. Therefore, it is very important for every beginner to master how to prune tomatoes correctly in order to obtain better quality and yield.

The importance of tomato pruning

Correct pruning can maximize the photosynthetic efficiency of plants, so that each leaf has enough space for normal growth and work, and most of the nutrients produced by leaves are directly used for fruit development. Reduce the occurrence of diseases, reduce the spread of bacteria and fungi, and reduce the occurrence of fruit rot. After the first inflorescence blooms, all tomato stems must be tied and supported. Although this plant looks strong, it is easily damaged. You can use cloth strips or professional cable ties, which has little damage to the tomato valve stem. Eight-shaped binding can reduce the damage caused by valve stem friction.

Trim leaves

With the growth of plants, the lower leaves will naturally turn yellow and wither, which is normal. When they appear, we must cut them off from the plants. When you notice the color change of the leaves, you can start pruning. In the case of limited space, we can also cut off the leaves below to make the plants get better ventilation and lighting. After pruning, the plants will keep the best growth state and help to resist diseases.

Simple pruning and Missouri pruning

No matter what kind of tomatoes you plant, you should trim the side buds in time. During the whole life cycle of tomato, lateral buds (or oily branches) will appear between leaves and main stems. The lateral buds should be pruned as soon as possible, and the lateral buds will grow quickly, which will consume a lot of nutrients. Without treatment, these lateral buds will grow like the main stem, blossom and bear fruit, which will not only affect the growth of the main stem, but also lead to poor fruit quality.

We can break these lateral buds directly with our fingers, and the small wound will heal soon.

In Missouri pruning, we only need to pinch off the tip of the side bud (or oil branch) and leave a leaf or two on the side bud. The advantage is that plants can get larger leaf area for photosynthesis and protect developing fruits from sunlight. The disadvantage is that new lateral buds will inevitably form on the lateral buds, thus increasing the pruning workload.

Tomato multi-system modeling

Tomatoes can have 1-4 stems. The fewer stems there are, the fewer fruits there are, but the bigger they are, the less space they need. In the multi-stem model of tomato, let the second stem (that is, the lateral bud we want to trim) grow from the first node above the first ear of fruit, and so on. Ensure that these stems are as close as possible to the first ear, so that the stems can grow well, and the lateral buds on these stems should be trimmed in time.

Final finishing

About 30 days before the first frost, you can top the plants and give each fruit a chance to ripen. Remove all the growth tips, so that the plants can provide all the nutrients for the fruit. This seems cruel, because every grower is unwilling to admit that the warm season is coming to an end. But the final pruning can accelerate the development of the fruit, make it mature before the first frost, appear on your plate, or continue to grow and bear useless immature fruit.