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In favorable conditions with a sufficient amount of moisture and fertilization, tomatoes grow actively and form a large number of shoots. Such intensive development thickens the planting and reduces the yield of the crop. That is why experienced gardeners recommend the formation of tomatoes, which consists in pinching and pinching plants. These activities must be carried out competently in order not to harm the tomatoes, but to help them bear fruit successfully.
How to form bushes of different types of tomatoes
Agrarians all varieties of tomatoes are subdivided into indeterminate and determinant... Sometimes on packages with seeds you can see exaggerated synonyms of these concepts, that is, "tall" and "undersized»Tomatoes. This rough classification allows the buyer to select varieties with certain agronomic characteristics. Caring for indeterminate and determinate tomatoes is fundamentally different. When purchasing one or another type of tomato, it is worth considering the peculiarities of cultivation, including the rules forming bushes.
Determinant tomatoes
It is not for nothing that the division of all tomatoes into indeterminate and determinant varieties is called a rough classification. The thing is that each of these species has its own subspecies. In general, determinant tomatoes are plants that independently regulate their growth. As a rule, determinate tomatoes do not form more than five fruiting clusters on one shoot, including the main one.
Superdeterminant varieties
Superdeterminant varieties limit their growth early enough. The fruits of such plants ripen together in the middle of summer. Superdeterminate tomatoes do not form large stepchildren, so caring for the crop is quite simple, it involves removing only the lower leaves. You do not need to pinch and pinch the plants.
Determinant varieties
"Simple" determinate tomatoes are sometimes called medium-sized. In the process of growing, they must be formed by removing stepchildren. Otherwise, tomatoes will actively increase their green mass, and their fruits will be tied in small quantities and ripen slowly. When growing determinant tomatoes, usually 2-3 additional lateral shoots are left, on which they will form ovaries after stopping the growth of the main stem.
Standard varieties
Standard tomatoes are a great option for lazy gardeners. The advantage of standard tomatoes is self-regulation of growth and slow growth of stepchildren. It is very easy to care for such tomatoes, because they do not need to be formed by pinching and pinching, it is enough only to periodically remove the lower leaves of the tomatoes.
All types of determinant tomatoes form the first fruit cluster above 5-7 leaves. Further, the laying of inflorescences occurs after 1-2 leaves. It is recommended to grow such tomatoes in open ground, however, in the northern regions, planting determinant plants in protected ground is fully justified. In the process of growing, super-determinant and determinate tomatoes need a garter. The binding of standard varieties is carried out as needed.
For the determinant type of plants, you can watch a video of the formation of a tomato bush:
Indeterminate tomatoes
More often Indeterminate tomatoes are the choice of professional farmers. They are able to grow and bear fruit indefinitely throughout the warm period. Most often they are grown in greenhouses or heated greenhouses. If the latter are available, tomatoes can be harvested from indeterminate plants all year round.
Indeterminate tomatoes can grow up to 3 m in height. In the absence of the formation of bushes, stepchildren are formed in large numbers and thicken the planting, taking away from the plants the strength for the formation and ripening of fruits. The first inflorescence of such tomatoes appears above the 9th leaf. All inflorescences located above are tied through 3 leaves. Over the entire life cycle, indeterminate tomatoes can form up to 50 fruiting clusters. Such tomatoes require a garter to a stable support and careful shaping of the bushes into one stem.
A video of the formation of a bush of tomatoes of an indeterminate type can be seen on the video:
Thus, when purchasing tomato seeds, it is imperative to pay attention to the agrotechnical characteristics of the variety. Having chosen "simple" determinant, semi-determinant and indeterminate tomatoes, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will need to shape the bushes in a certain way, using the methods of pinching and pinching the tomato. Superdeterminate and standard tomatoes will not require special care, however, and their yield will be relatively lower.
Bush formation rules
As it has already become clear, different types of tomato bushes are formed into one, two or more stems. At the same time, pinching and pinching a tomato perform very specific functions, and activities must be carried out in compliance with clear rules.
Pinching procedure
The correct formation of a tomato always includes a pinching procedure. For novice farmers, identifying and removing stepchildren can cause some difficulties, so we will try to talk about this in more detail.
What is a stepson
The stepson is a lateral shoot that forms in the axil of a tomato leaf. In the process of growth on the stepchildren, as on the main stem, green leaves and fruit brushes are massively formed. Such active growth of stepchildren requires a large amount of nutrients, which can provoke the formation of smaller fruits on the main stem and slow down their ripening period. If you do not remove the side stepsons, then the plantings thicken strongly. The lack of normal air circulation between the bushes causes the development of diseases and fruit rot.
Correct pinching of a tomato allows you to harmoniously form the plant, regulating the ratio of green mass and number of fruits. As a result of pinching, the plants do not experience strong overvoltage and can safely bear fruit until the end of the growing season. After watching the video of tomato pinching, you can appreciate the importance and necessity of this procedure.
How to properly pinch a tomato
It is necessary to carry out pinching of tomatoes 10-15 days after planting seedlings in the ground. In this case, the size of the stepchildren should be about 5 cm. After the initial pinching, it is necessary to regularly carefully examine the plants and carry out additional pinching of the tomato every 2 weeks.
A video of pinching tomatoes will allow you to avoid some mistakes and clearly see the implementation of the event:
When bush formation all formed stepchildren are removed in one stem.Such pinching of a tomato is carried out for indeterminate, tall varieties. If we are talking about pinching tomatoes of a semi-determinant type, then in the process of removing shoots it is necessary to leave one of the strongest stepson. This will allow the plant to form fruit clusters on the stepson at a time when the growth of the main stem has already been stopped. When pinching tomatoes with determinant type bush leave two, and sometimes more side shoots. The scheme for pinching tomatoes into one, two or more stems is shown below.
It is worth noting that the lower stepchildren on the plants are always removed. The same applies to shoots growing from the root of the plant.
For determinant tomatoes, in addition to the proposed scheme for the formation of plants in two and three stems, a stepwise pinching scheme can be used. So, a stepson is left under the first fruiting brush of a short or medium-sized plant. This lateral shoot develops safely and also forms fruiting clusters. It is also necessary to leave one stepson under the first of them. After its growth, the stepwise pinching procedure is repeated. This allows undersized and medium-sized tomatoes to form into one stem, while the new stepchildren will constantly bear fruit, replacing the main stem that has stopped growing. Such pinching of tomatoes can be seen in the diagram below.
It is important for every farmer to remember that the pinching and garter of tomatoes should be carried out at the same time. This will relieve the load from the resulting fruits and leaves from the plants.
A video on how to tie up tomatoes correctly can be seen here:
Pinching tomatoes
Pinching of tomatoes is carried out only when growing tall, indeterminate or semi-determinant varieties. This allows you to stop the growth of the plant and direct all its forces to the ripening of already existing fruits. Pinching of tomatoes is carried out in the fall, one month before the expected end of the growing season.
Important! Determinant tomatoes are also sometimes pinched to speed up fruit ripening.
When growing tomatoes in a staggered manner, pinching of the main shoots can also be used.
The pinching procedure for tomatoes on open ground and in greenhouses is the same. To do this, remove the top of the main stem to a height of two sheets. The left overhead leaves of tomatoes will act as a “pump”, pumping micronutrients from the soil and lifting them up the stem. After pinching, the tomatoes begin to actively grow lateral shoots, however, they also need to be removed by pinching. If you do not remove the side stepsons, then the procedure for pinching the tops of the tomatoes will be meaningless.
You can see the procedure for pinching tall tomatoes and hear the comments of an experienced farmer in the video:
Removing leaves
Experienced gardeners and professional farmers know that by removing the leaves you can also speed up the ripening process of tomatoes. Such thinning of foliage is carried out on tomatoes starting from the beginning of June. Regularly, every week, it is recommended to remove 1-3 leaves located under the lowest fruiting brush. This allows the plant to deliver all the nutrients directly to the fruit without wasting energy in providing the leaves.
It is necessary to remove the leaves carefully so as not to damage the skin of the plant. You can use pruning shears to remove the leaves or break them off by hand by bending them to the side.
Conclusion
Thus, when growing tomatoes in open areas of the ground and in a greenhouse, it is very important to correctly pinch the tomato, pinch the plants in a timely manner, tie it up and remove the lower leaves.The complex of such measures will allow to relieve excessive stress from plants, accelerate the process of fruit ripening, and prevent the development of viral and fungal diseases. Pickling and pinching a tomato must be carried out in compliance with the described rules, adhering to the chosen scheme. If you violate the rules for the formation of a bush, you can reduce the yield of the crop, slow down the growth of plants or even destroy them.
