Among experienced summer residents there is no agreement on the question of how many leaves should be removed from a tomato plant for better fruiting. Some remove all the foliage completely, leaving only fruits on the branches. Others, on the contrary, even their stepchildren don’t clean up. Of course, anyone who wants to grow good harvest tomatoes in your garden, wondering how many leaves to leave on the bush? Let's try to figure it out. Even without a biological education, it is clear that leaves are a full-fledged organ of any plant. That is, they are directly related to nutrition processes, just like roots and stems. The task of leaves is to absorb carbon dioxide, which is converted into organic substances during photosynthesis. necessary for the plant. When the number of leaves is reduced, enormous stress occurs; your green pets literally find themselves on a starvation diet. The question arises, why do all gardeners repeat this procedure from year to year? Obviously, there are still advantages for the harvest in removing leaves. Which leaves to pick While the bush is growing, the number of leaves removed should not exceed 2-3 pieces twice a week. Moreover, only the lower leaves need to be removed. At the end of July, you can begin a procedure such as pinching the tops. Despite the fact that branches with flowers still appear at the top and can be removed, they still most likely will not have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather. After some time after this, it will be possible to remove all the leaves on the bush, except for a few located above the very top brush. During this period, green mass is no longer so important; it is important to accelerate the ripening of fruits. How to remove leaves from tomato bushes IMPORTANT! Under no circumstances should you remove all the leaves at once. This will lead to the plant restoring strength after suffering stress, and not growing fruit. This is a simple matter, but still remember that the plant will experience stress, so you should take care of the most painless removal. The most the right time for this - the morning of a sunny day. The wounds will have time to dry out during the day, and the evening cool will not harm the plant. You also need to tear off the leaves very carefully. Press the leaf stalk at the very base to the stem and pull it up. If you pull down, you can tear off strips of the delicate epidermis, breaking the integrity of the stem. There is a misconception that removing the lower leaves helps fight late blight. But long-term observations show that the disease, as a rule, affects the entire plant, and not only the leaves, but also the stems. Therefore, you should not expect that you can get away with just removing the leaves. You will have to remove the entire bush, especially if your planting is quite dense. So, now is the time to slowly remove the leaves, but you should approach this task without excessive enthusiasm. *************************************** ALSO SEE THE BEST RECIPES VISIT THE LINK
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For those who grow on personal plot tomatoes, removing their leaves is just another aspect of caring for the bushes. But novice gardeners often find themselves at a dead end, deciding whether to remove leaves from tomatoes, and not understanding why to do it. It is no secret that plant nutrition occurs not only with the help of the root system, but also as a result of the process of photosynthesis occurring in the above-ground, green part of them.
For those who grow tomatoes in their garden, removing their leaves is just another aspect of caring for the bushes.
Why are leaves removed from tomatoes?
In some cases, such a procedure can be truly useful and necessary. When grown outdoors on rainy, cold days, the luxurious foliage prevents the free circulation of air between the tomato bushes. This usually leads to the accumulation and stagnation of moisture on leaf blades, stems, and filling unripe fruits.
Causative agents of various fungal infections quickly develop in drops of water, including gray mold, downy mildew, and the scourge of all gardeners - late blight. If strawberries are planted next to tomatoes, then late blight can also affect the berry plantation.
In this case, it is necessary to remove the lower leaves to ensure normal ventilation of the bushes. Quickly drying raindrops, ultraviolet irradiation that is not interfered with wide leaves, reduce the chances of developing diseases and help preserve the harvest. If the tomato bushes are tied to a trellis, then even in a damp, cold summer, tearing off the lower leaves almost completely solves the problem of fungal diseases affecting the plantings.
There are a number of other reasons why cleaning up excess green matter may be useful:
- experienced gardeners even remove cotyledon leaves from seedlings, but only after 2-4 true leaves appear;
- it is recommended to pluck the lower leaves to a height of 50 cm from tomatoes grown in greenhouses to ensure good ventilation of the lower tier of planting;
- Leaves of tomatoes should definitely be removed if they begin to turn yellow or brown spots appear on the leaf blade;
- during the dry period, removing large lower leaves can promote accelerated filling and ripening of fruits, since aspiration (evaporation of moisture into the air) is significantly reduced.
Experienced gardeners believe that freeing tomatoes from excess green matter is a beneficial procedure for plants
Leaves that are located on the north side also need to be removed. large bushes. They are still in the shade, which is why the process of photosynthesis occurs in them to a small extent. But removing them allows for good air circulation. This is especially true for thickened plantings with a garter on stakes or a trellis, as well as when growing tomatoes in closed ground.
Growing tomatoes (video)
How to trim foliage correctly
Removal of excess leaves is carried out depending on the growth rate of the bush. In the most general case, you can follow the recommendation to tear off 2-4 bottom leaves 1-2 times a week. In no case should you trim a large amount of green mass at one time if such an operation has not been performed before. You need to start with the same 2-4 leaves, but tear them off at intervals of 2-3 days to give the plant the opportunity to restore the balance of substances.
A simple rule can help: if all the fruits are tied on the next cluster and begin to grow, but there are no flowers left, then you can remove all the leaves that are located below it. In this case nutrients and the moisture coming from the roots will be completely delivered to the fruits. As a result, their total weight and the size of each tomato.
As a rule, in early August, gardeners pinch the top of the tomato bush. This forces the stems to stop their growth and direct all the juices to feed the already set fruits. At this time, most of the leaves can be removed, allowing access sun rays to ripening tomatoes. When carrying out such an operation, it is important not to overdo it, leaving 3-5 leaves at the top of the bush so as not to disturb the sap flow.
It is important to choose right time to remove excess green mass. It is best to trim leaves in the morning, in dry, sunny weather. In this case, the damaged tissues will quickly dry out and pathogenic microorganisms will not enter the wound.
If the weather is cool and damp, with no hope of improvement, and pruning is already necessary, then this should be done in the first half of the day. In this case, until the evening and the temperature drops even more, the wounds from the removed leaves will be able to heal a little.
In some cases, such a procedure can be really useful and necessary.
To cause as little damage as possible to the plant during the process of removing foliage, you need to adhere to the following rules:
- press the leaf petiole to the stem at the very base to break it;
- Carefully tear off the petiole without leaving a “stump”.
Under no circumstances should the leaf blade be bent down. When the petiole breaks off, it can pull a strip of skin from the base. This action can easily damage a significant part of the stem, and fungi and bacteria can penetrate into a large wound. If the petioles are very coarse, then to remove such leaves it is best to use sharp knife or scissors.
Experienced gardeners believe that freeing tomatoes from excess green matter is a beneficial procedure for plants. In order not to harm the tomato bushes, it must be carried out correctly, following the recommendations given. In this case, the fruits will grow healthy and clean, and late blight will not be able to multiply on tomato leaves.
And other questions...
This question plagues many summer residents, regardless of their experience in growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or under film cover. It seems clear that the lower leaves that come into contact with the soil should be removed as early as possible, because they are the gateway for late blight pathogens. The fact is that the pathogens are in the soil; when watering, the leaf becomes wet; if it is cool at night, then there is a high risk of the plant getting sick. You can, of course, constantly spray the plants with copper preparations, you can even copper wire insert into the hole in the stem. But the extra copper in the plant, and therefore in the fruits, will definitely not add health to the eaters. Therefore important agricultural techniques- removing leaves in contact with the soil and watering strictly to the roots.
In addition to the lowest leaves, others are also removed. The question is: when and in what quantity. All leaves located below the flower brush are removed gradually, no more than 2 at a time. Moreover, they begin to cut them from the moment when the first ovary approaches the ideal size (according to the characteristics of the variety). Above the first cluster, the leaves are also removed gradually, again focusing on the size of the first fruit in the cluster. If you remove many leaves and shoots at once, the plant will experience severe stress, which will affect the size and fruit set.
Always prune and remove shoots in sunny weather and in the morning hours - ideally between 9.00 and 12.00. This will allow the wounds to quickly heal and become inaccessible to the penetration of pathogens.
But what if leaves with signs of disease or damaged fruit appear on the plant? They must be removed without delay. If the leaf is generally healthy, and drying or graying has affected only one lobe, then first you can cut off only it, leaving most of the leaf. We must always remember that leaves play a vital role in photosynthesis. Therefore, a tomato should become a “palm tree” with a tuft of leaves at the very top only when at least 7-8 fruit clusters are formed on the plant, and even better at the very end of July.
Question and answer:
1. Is it possible to determine from a tomato bush whether it needs to be pinched (remove all branches, leaving the main one)?
The brushes should already be formed, that is, the fruits only have to ripen.
There are two types of tomatoes - with limited growth and unlimited. If it has limited growth (25-100 cm, as a rule), then it does not need to be pinched; in any case, you can leave the ground 2-3 stepsons and break out the rest to speed up the process of fruit ripening. In them, as a rule, the first flower cluster is formed after 3-4 pairs of leaves. But for those that are unlimited in growth, the height can reach 3 m, and in order for their crop to ripen during the season, it is necessary to form them into one or two stems, constantly breaking out the stepsons. Their first cluster is most often formed after 6-78 pairs of leaves.
2. And when does this late blight appear? I have been planted in open garden bed six bushes. There are already a lot of fruits on them, they are ripening and new flowers are forming. I read your previous post about tomatoes and went to break out the stepsons (more precisely, what I considered to be stepsons :). I don’t know what late blight should look like, but all the bushes are covered in small black flies. I sprayed them with soapy water, but it didn’t get much smaller.
Still, late blight most often appears in the second half of summer, when day and night air temperatures differ significantly. Gray spots with fluff on the underside appear on the leaves, darkening appears on the fruits. To prevent this from happening, we need to ensure now proper care and regular spraying with phytosporin (once every 2 weeks on the underside of leaves and soil). And drive away flies, they can damage the integrity of the leaf plate, which will lead to various types rotten. Make a decoction of wormwood or yarrow, add soap and sprinkle.
3. In my greenhouse, the tomatoes are already up to the ceiling. I removed all the stepsons, leaving only 2-3 stems. Now I don’t know what to do with them next. Another 2-3 months of summer heat, and they will have nowhere to grow. What can be done? tell me please! Maybe the stepsons should be left at the top? Already the first brushes began to turn red.
If the greenhouse is not high, you can direct the tops to a trellis made of twine under the roof. But already in mid-July you need to pinch off the tops. Your task is for the crop to gain the required weight and ripen, and not to increase the green mass.
Tomatoes are loved and grown by many gardeners. After all, these vegetables can decorate or complement any dish. The culture is not difficult to grow, but it simply needs careful care. Why? This is the only way to get a rich and tasty harvest. The plant needs not only watering, fertilizing and hilling. It is also necessary to eliminate “extra” leaves on tomato bushes. The procedure must be carried out according to certain rules familiar to all professional gardeners.
There are several opinions regarding whether it is necessary to pick off leaves from tomatoes and their seedlings. Experienced gardeners insist that the procedure is useful and therefore mandatory.
There are several reasons why tomato leaves need to be trimmed:
- The massive lower organs of the plant evaporate large amounts of moisture and “feed” on minerals intended for the formation of fruits.
- Due to their size, the lower leaves interfere with the free movement of air masses, which provokes high humidity. Namely, it is in such an environment that bacteria harmful to the culture multiply.
- Wet tomato leaves, touching the ground, begin to rot, which promotes the proliferation of harmful microorganisms and provokes various diseases. For example, late blight very often begins with the foliage located at the bottom of the bush.
It is worth noting that it is necessary to immediately liquidate and yellow leaves with spots and necrosis, because they are an ideal environment for the development of diseases. This reaction of the plant is caused by improper care of it.
First of all, and as often as possible in the future, it is necessary to eliminate old dry leaves located in the lower part of the bush. It is these organs of the plant that become covered with spots of various natures and colors.
You also need to trim the thickened tomato foliage located on the north side. It is worth removing “useless” organs of tomatoes for better ventilation of the bushes. In addition, it is necessary to trim the “fatifying” stems to increase yield.
To avoid diseases, you can treat tomatoes with products that contain copper. But such “treatment” has a bad effect on the fruits of the crop. Therefore, it is best to remove the lower leaves.
When to cut and how correctly?
Why is it sometimes not enough to simply remove tomato leaves to achieve the desired effect? Because the procedure should be carried out correctly and at the right time.
If the leaf begins to partially dry out, then the affected part should be cut off and the healthy part should be left. After all, it is thanks to the green parts of the plant that the process of photosynthesis and nutrition of the crop occur.
From time to time the vegetable needs clarification. To reach it, it is worth plucking off the foliage located on the north side and growing in the depths of the bush. It is in the shade and is not so important for photosynthesis.
Tomato leaves located below the inflorescence must be plucked off in stages. Sometimes after the flowers appear, the stem continues to grow, provoking the appearance of new inflorescences. But it is worth remembering that this is an additional burden for the vegetable, so it is better to trim them.
The leaves above the first inflorescence should be cut off gradually so as not to injure the tomatoes. If the main color has turned into a small amount of tomato fruit, you can leave a few ovaries on the newly grown shoot.
There are also a number of rules, following which you can easily get the maximum positive result:
- Remove leaves and side shoots It is better to plant seedlings in the morning (before 12 noon) in good warm weather. In such conditions, the crop will heal wounds faster, and pathogenic organisms will not be able to penetrate inside the vegetable.
- There is no need to be overzealous with eliminating leaves. Several times a week, 2-3 pieces are enough to grow healthy tomatoes from their seedlings. But at the same time, it is worth constantly monitoring the vegetable. The frequency of the procedure is adjusted based on each specific case.
The culture tolerates the removal of 3 shoots twice a week. But it is worth noting that sometimes this plant organ needs to be eliminated on a large scale: if there is a risk of developing diseases.
Multiple removal of foliage does not affect the further development of plants.
When the first tomatoes appear from the seedlings below, the leaves growing from the fruits are eliminated.
When August comes, in regions with a comfortable climate, the tops of tomatoes are picked. Why? It is generally accepted that new fruits will not be able to fully form due to weather conditions, and the culture itself no longer needs so many of its green parts. Only the top 4 sheets should be left. The pair of leaves above the top brush must be intact. Only then will the movement of juices through the plant be normal.
Sometimes determining when to eliminate tomato leaves is very simple. Observing the planted plants, you can notice how the leaves of the seedlings turn yellow and fall off. It goes without saying that such cultural organs should be removed. It’s time to dive when the bushes have grown sufficiently and individual organs of the seedlings have begun to “grow fat.”
Removing vegetable sheets in a greenhouse has its own characteristics. Why? Because growing a crop in greenhouse conditions is somewhat different from growing it in open soil.
After planting the seedlings in the greenhouse, the bushes begin to form through pinching. But the removal of the lower leaves of the bushes is most often caused by thickening. It is because of this that the air in the greenhouse does not circulate well and becomes excessively humid.
When the air humidity in the greenhouse is high, the leaves of the seedlings fall off. Such an environment also provokes the development of pathogens.
Tomatoes require careful care. Almost everyone can grow a vegetable from seedlings and use it productively, the main thing is to follow the rules and recommendations. Removing the lower shoots from tomato bushes gives positive effect: the fruits become larger, ripen faster, and the crop itself practically does not get sick.
Video “Why trim the lower leaves of tomatoes”
Find out why you need to trim the lower leaves of tomatoes and how to do it correctly.