Suckers on the leaf stalk?

[kilroyscarnival]

Just wondering if this is normal.

My two Big Ray's Argentina Paste tomatoes both got zapped by last month's frost. The tops all got dinged and I had to trim off some dead material.

Now, Big Ray's has the most aggressive looking main stems, and big, droopy, long petioles of leaves. I had been pinching back some but not all of the suckers as the plant grew up the stake, as the pastes are a little too close together to accommodate all that foliage. So, new suckers have formed which is great! It seems intent on keeping growing and replacing that damaged top.

Only, I've noticed suckers are forming between the leaves in the middle of the leaf stalk (my new word of the day is petiole. So proud.) Have never seen this before. And you know I now have MONTHS of tomato growing experience!

I think I should pinch them back so the other suckers, which are placed more normally and better positioned off the main stem, can get the energy.

Is this weird? I dunno.

Ann

[Redbaron]

It is uncommon, but not unheard of. When the tomato looses it's main growing stem it will induce a hormonal change that tries to replace it any way it can. Thus the multiple attempts by your plant to make suckers all over the place, even on the stems.

I would pick a vigorous sucker near the top and let that one grow. Eventually it will take over the duty of the main stem and this crazy plant hormone imbalance will subside a bit.

[Darren Abbey]

If they're actually growing off of the petiole, that would be weird. It would be cool to see a photo of that. There aren't that many plants which exhibit secondary growth from leaves like that.

[clayton_ross]

the meristem, the tip of the main trunk makes a hormone that retards the growth of the leaf side shoots. it the tip dies so does the subprestion chems this is true for nearly all plants.

[kilroyscarnival]

Thanks! Oh, another new word. Meristem.

I will see if I can get a pic if I get home before it's fully dark. It certainly interested me. I can't see that that could support much in the way of growth/weight, but I might let one go just a bit to see what happens. Mostly I'm going to whittle it down to a strong sucker at a strong top tier spot. But the Big Ray's is a very different looking plant even than the other two pastes I'm growing. Thick hardy stems, lots of foliage. It broke my heart to see it zapped by frost even though covered. Good to see it steaming on back. No ripe fruit yet, though I'm getting a few more Super Italian Paste.

[Darren Abbey]

Originally Posted by clayton_ross

the meristem, the tip of the main trunk makes a hormone that retards the growth of the leaf side shoots. it the tip dies so does the subprestion chems this is true for nearly all plants.

The name for the type of hormone is 'Auxin'. Variations in this system drive a large part of how plants are shaped. You can interfere with the system by pinching off the terminal buds, resulting in the activation of secondary buds and a more bushy plant.

A sucker forming along a petiole is rather odd because the normal plant developmental program will not produce secondary meristems within a leaf structure, but rather at the base of the petiole. I have seen some tropical plants which break this pattern, but I don't come across them often.