To prune or not to prune?

[timfmbhm]

My wife says that pruning reduces yield. I disagree. What do you think?

[zipcode]

If you're talking yield per plant, your wife is right. If you're talking yield per square meter, you're right.

[timfmbhm]

It's my understanding that pruning will enable the plants to produce more fruit and larger fruit. Am I mistaken?

[ilex]

IMHO pruning will or can:

- get bigger fruit
- get earlier fruit
- get better airflow
- allow more plants (density)

If any of those are not your priorities ...

I prune first 10 inches and then just what really gets on the way. I don't care if tomatoes are small, and very few fungus here in summer.

[zipcode]

Originally Posted by timfmbhm

It's my understanding that pruning will enable the plants to produce more fruit and larger fruit. Am I mistaken?

I would say you are wrong about more fruit. Not pruned should give you more, at least if you fertilize properly. I find that no pruning and high nitrogen will result in overly large vegetative mass. With pruning I find a bit harder to get this situation.
I am a one stem guy btw, I always prune if the variety is suited for it (pretty much every larger one).

[BigVanVader]

I have been experimenting both ways and in my opinion pruning is way better than not. Of course here the humidity is a huge issue so that is a factor, but pruning to two stems outdoors and single under plastic is proving to make for very healthy, easy to manage and productive plants. Be careful not to expose the fruit to direct sunlight though. You can get sun scald pretty quick. Don't prune determinate tomatoes and don't prune cherries much. I'd also suggest trying both ways on side by side plants just as an experiment and to prove to your wife that you/her are right/wrong. Good luck!

[Shapshftr]

From all that I have read, pruning will reduce your overall yield. More stems = more plant to set fruit. So I think it's like others say, it will reduce the amount of fruit per plant but will allow closer spacing of plants, which will increase total yield. As for larger fruits, I have learned that pinching blossoms will accomplish that. Some varieties I have grown will set 8 to 10 blossoms per truss. And always, the first blossoms produce larger fruits than the last ones. They get progressively smaller with each additional blossom. Also, that is a lot of weight to have hanging on the truss and they usually end up breaking away from the stem due to weight.

So I only prune the downward growing leaves at the bottom of the plant, and leave the suckers down there grow upward. I do this to keep the leaves from getting dirt splashed up on them, and to get bushier plants from all those suckers which become additional vines on the plant. Then I only let a maximum of 3 blossoms stay on each truss. Two is better for larger fruits.

Also, excessive pruning prevents the fruits from being shaded by the leaves which is critical to producing good fruits. Any fruits exposed to sun will get sun scald and or green shoulders. Sunlight on the fruits heats them up on top. That heat prevents the production of lycopene and beta carotene, so the tops will not turn red as the rest of the fruit does.

[Nematode]

Dont you know by now that your wife is always right?
What good will it do you to win the battle and lose the war?

[Shapshftr]

Originally Posted by Nematode

Dont you know by now that your wife is always right?
What good will it do you to win the battle and lose the war?

DITTO

[AlittleSalt]

I'm agreeing with Nematode.

My wife likes the untrimmed huge monster plants too.

[PaulF]

As said numerous times when a pruning question arises...no pruning. BUT, the bottom branches that are in contact with the ground or mulch or may grow that direction, get pruned. Those will not affect either size nor numbers.

I love the large untrimmed plants as well. The thirty five plants in the garden have their spaces defined early...as in planting time...and they are all given four feet 6 inches from the next plant in every direction so there is no worry about whether to trim and put in a few extra plants and crowd the tomatoes together. As a home gardener, an added production of a few tomatoes is not worth the hassle. I love large tomatoes and choose varieties to achieve that goal rather than prune to get fewer but perhaps larger fruit by what, a couple of ounces? Again, not worth the effort.

Air flow is important in disease prevention and with the spacing the plants are given there has been no serious problem. Again, spacing and a good mulching program alleviates the need to prune for air flow.

So, that's the explanation for no pruning. You pruners go ahead and hack up an otherwise beautiful plant if you want, but this old fat guy won't do it.

[jmsieglaff]

More information is better than not enough, so I'll chime in with my method, I'd consider myself a hybrid.

I prune all bottom leaves/branches that get close to the ground, even with the heavy layer of straw mulch I use. I prune suckers along the bottom 12-18" of the plant, then let 3-4 main stems go. As the year progresses I may let another 1-2 stems go, especially on cherries. I will also prune anything on the interior of the plant that will significantly reduce airflow in the plant center. My staking method is heavy duty 54" cages with 3 7' stakes per cage that I will tie my stems to when they out grow the cage.

[OhioKate]

I only prune the leaves that are at risk of hitting the ground. Even though I mulch with straw it's sometimes not enough to prevent the yucky kind of things that could happen if I were to just leave it.

[Nematode]

For indeterminates in the end its personal preference.

I like to put my plants close, and trellis them so lots of pruning for me, i like fussing over them and watching them grow. Also no hunting for fruits, they are all right along the one main stem. Others take a more hands off approach and let them run wild.
Neither is right or wrong.

Determinates are another matter, pruning will hurt yields.

[lexusnexus]

Here in Maryland fungus is a big problem, as I suspect it is in Alabama, due to heat, humidity, and lack of any wind in the dead of the summer. I prune the lower branches to provide some protection against fungus and other diseases that might move up leaves and branches from the ground. Our extension service recommends removing suckers to help with air flow and the production of larger fruits.

Dan