When growing tomato plants in a greenhouse and open ground, work is supposed to form bushes. This measure is necessary to improve the growth of tomatoes and the ripening of fruits on them. As a rule, you need to pick off excess leaves and tomato shoots, which are called stepchildren. They only increase the amount of green mass on the bushes, consume the nutrients necessary for ripening tomatoes.
If you neglect this measure, the fruits of tomatoes will grow small, the plants will be sick, the quality of the harvest will be at a low level.
The need to remove leaves from a tomato
It is no secret that the foliage of any plant performs important functions of photosynthesis. And if you cut off all the leaves from the bush, it will simply die.
In the process of growth, the very first leaves, located below, begin to age, come into contact with the soil surface, turn yellow and become stained. They are the ones provoke stagnation of air in the greenhouse and the development of diseases... If you think about it, they have fulfilled their function, the plant no longer needs them.
Withering foliage often becomes a source of diseases that, in greenhouse conditions, quickly affect those around the bush.
What leaves on tomatoes need to be cut
It is not recommended, coming to the garden, to cut off everything that the eye sees. The bushes are alive, they experience stress from any actions. So in one procedure do not remove a large number of leaves.
First of all, you need to break off those greens that lies on the ground... After a few days, you can examine the plants more closely, and if the tomatoes on the brush have grown to normal size, you can safely remove the foliage below.
As a rule, experienced gardeners perform a similar procedure twice a week, which allows the plant to form fruits in the clusters located above.
In addition, you should pay attention to:
- foliage oriented to the north side. So you will improve the ventilation of tomato beds, which is very important for dense plantings;
- fattening twigs that do not form fruit. By removing them, you will enable the bush to increase its yield.
Correct Leaves Pruning Timing
Some gardeners start removing the lower foliage immediately, as soon as the fruit cluster begins to bloom... A separate category assures that this should be done after how tomatoes will form.
You can argue endlessly, but there is a simple solution - to divide the bed into two parts and on each to cut the leaves at different times, later comparing the results.
Based on theory, during the period of flowering and the formation of the ovary, tomato brushes receive the necessary nutritional components formed as a result of photosynthesis directly from the leaves. A little later, as soon as the tomatoes begin to synthesize them on their own, the leaves can be cut off.
Specific dates to be determined in this impossible... Much depends on the type of culture, the characteristics of the climate in a particular area, the greenhouse microclimate. It is necessary to take the period of flowering and the appearance of fruits as a guideline. As soon as the vegetables begin to grow in size and turn brown, the lower leaves should be removed in stages.
In a normally developed bush thirty centimeters of the stem under the lower fruit cluster should be empty... Only in this case he will receive the required amount of light, nutrients from the root system will begin to flow directly to the ripening tomatoes.
Feel free to add to this an increase in air humidity, improved ventilation, and a decrease in the risk of diseases.
How to prune tomatoes
There are no strict rules for pruning that must be followed. It is believed that any plant tolerates removal without problems. up to three leaves twice a week... Sometimes a bush needs a more global procedure if a dangerous disease develops on it.
How and what to cut off shoots
Gardeners remove foliage in various ways. But it is best to choose the one that is more convenient and less harmful to tomato crops.
Do not pluck the foliage sharply, directing it down. This will leave large wounds on the plant, in which bacteria will immediately start to grow.
It is possible to break off the leaves by turning them slightly to the side clockwise, but this scheme is not ideal either.
Pruning instruction
To do everything right and not injure the plant, we advise you to do the following:
- procedure to carry out in warm weather;
- prepare in advance sharp scissors and a small container with hydrogen peroxide;
- the tool trims excess foliage - it will be more convenient and faster;
- wound processed with peroxideto protect the plant from disease.
By acting in this way, you inflict minimal damage on the culture, which will dry out very quickly after processing. Instead of hydrogen peroxide, it is allowed to use manganese solution or activated carbon.
How many brushes to leave on tomatoes in the greenhouse
The basic rule that must be followed is that if the brush of the plant has not yet tied all the fruits, then most of the foliage must be left intact above it.
At the end of July - beginning of August, most gardeners start pinching the tops plants. It is already becoming obvious that the rest of the brushes will not have time to form the tomatoes. The plant remains seven to eight most developed brushesthat will give the harvest.
After a similar procedure, when you do not need to build up any greenery, you can cut all the foliageleaving three to four on top. First, you will not disturb the movement of the sap through the plant. Secondly, perform excellent prophylaxis against probable diseases.
As you can see, the measure is really necessary, it perfectly helps the plant in growth and fruiting. By following all the recommended advice, you can protect the beds from disease and get a decent harvest of tomatoes.
The main thing is to carefully examine the bushes, choose the right foliage for removal, and act carefully so as not to injure the culture.