Beginning gardeners often do not get a harvest, not because they planted bad seedlings or fed them incorrectly. The mistake was different: the plant grew actively, gave many shoots, it was a pity to remove them. As a result, the bush turned into impenetrable thickets, and there were very few fruits, and they were not going to ripen.
In dense plantings, the risk of diseases increases. Do not leave too many side shoots. The necessary work must be done in a timely manner, observing simple rules.
Why do you need to stepson tomatoes?
Tomatoes are plants with a well-developed vegetative system, in which not only the central stem, leaves and fruit clusters are actively growing, but second-order shoots (stepchildren) are also formed in the axils of the leaves. They, in turn, form shoots of the next order.
Thus, the number of side shoots can increase exponentially. They consume a large amount of nutrients necessary for the laying and ripening of fruits that are poorly tied or crumble before reaching maturity.
In a competitive environment, the growth of shoots wins, and since the main task is to obtain a crop of fruits, care must be taken to regulate the number of shoots.
What varieties of tomatoes should be stepchildren?
Varieties of tomatoes are very diverse according to the principle of development of the vegetative system. The main part of them is developing very actively and it is necessary to direct this force in the right direction by stepsoning:
- Indeterminate varieties with unlimited growth of the main stem, in addition to which the plant shoots in the axils of the leaves. Some bushes can produce up to 20 flower clusters on a central stem, and the power of the plant must be directed to fertilize them.
- Determinate varieties with limited growth of the main shoot by 5-8 fruit clusters and an unlimited number of shoots of the second and subsequent orders. In this case, in a short growing season, it is necessary to obtain the maximum yield on the main stem, and only then think about the possibility of obtaining fruits on the growing shoots.
Tomatoes that do not require pinching
Tomatoes have varieties that do not require intervention in their development, since they lay a small amount of vegetative organs, exactly as much as the plant itself can provide. They usually lay from 3 to 5 fruit clusters, which ripen safely, the plant finishes growing and dies. These are super-early determinant varieties, standard ones, which have practically no lateral processes on a thick stem.
Stepson as a vegetative organ
Stepchildren are new vegetative formations growing in the axil of the leaf with the same functions as the main shoot. They grow in each sinus and may reappear after pinching. On each stepson, leaves, flower brushes and new stepchildren are laid in the axils of the leaves. A stepson not removed in a timely manner can take the lead from the main stem and become the top of growth.
Technology
When
Pasynkovanie is a procedure that violates the integrity of the skin, it threatens to get a harmful infection in the wound. To prevent this, pinching is carried out in dry, without dew, calm weather. The event is best done in the morning, before the onset of heat, then during the day the wound will have time to dry.
How often
Stepchildren must be removed in a timely manner, preventing them from growing more than 5 cm, so as not to injure the stem and not waste the plant’s energy on shoot growth. To do this, at least once a week, carefully inspect the plants and remove the resulting shoots.
Advice! Plants with signs of disease are stepchildren last, in order to prevent infection of healthy plants in the event of a disease.
How to
Usually stepchildren break off with their hands. Work is best done with gloves in the morning, when the plant organs are more juicy and fragile. The escape is captured with the thumb and forefinger, tilted to the side. Press on escape with effort. So the shoot will easily break off at the very stem. But it is more correct to hold the stepson with your finger a little higher, so that when breaking off in the sinus, a stump of 1-2 mm remains, this will prevent the formation of a new shoot in the sinus.
To remove stepchildren, especially overgrown ones, you can use scissors or a knife. In doing so, you need:
- constantly sharpen the tool to minimize damage to the plant;
- cut out the stepson with clear movements without touching other organs of the plant;
- disinfect the tool after each bush.
Important! Removed stepchildren, leaves and other plant debris must be immediately removed from the beds and destroyed.
Pasynkovanie and physiological features of the variety
Determinate tomatoes to be pinched are formed in different ways:
- In early tomatoes, quickly ending the growing season, only part of the stepchildren are removed. When forming into one stem, the stepchildren at the bottom of the plant are removed, and after 3-5 flower brushes, 1-2 lateral stepchildren are left, on which another one or two brushes are laid. This method is called the transfer of fruiting to a side shoot.
- In other determinant varieties (tall and medium tall), two, less often three stems are left. To do this, at the bottom of the plant, below the first flower formation, an escape is left, from which a second stem will be obtained, almost equivalent to the main one. If one more stepson is left below the next flower brush, a third stem is formed. On the shoots of the second order, forming new stems, stepchildren also appear in the axils of the leaves. All of them need to be removed.
- In tall determinant tomatoes, especially large-fruited ones, it is better to remove all side shoots, getting a crop only from the main stem.
Tall bushes of indeterminate varieties are more often formed into one stem, therefore, all resulting stepchildren are broken out of the leaf axils. Plants stretch upwards, laying a new flower brush every one or two leaves.
Influence of growing conditions of tomatoes on the rules of pinching
in the greenhouse
Protected soil requires certain costs for the equipment of the structure, so it is necessary to get the maximum return on a high yield so that all costs pay off. Especially, it concerns winter heated greenhouses.
To ensure their high return, tall tomato varieties are planted with unlimited formation of fruit clusters on the main stem. Here, all side shoots in all sinuses are removed in a timely manner.
This event allows the plant to tie full-fledged brushes for a long time.
They even use the lowering of the lower part of the stem, which has finished fruiting, to the ground using a special tying technique. This allows the stem to continue growing upwards without resting on the roof of the greenhouse.
To interrupt the growth of tall tomatoes in the greenhouse, pinching the growth point through 1-2 leaves, after the last left fruit brush. Pinching allows you to provide conditions for the formation and maturation of all formed ovaries.
In the video, the agronomist tells how and what bushes should be formed and stepchildren.
In the open field
Tomatoes of different varieties are planted, therefore, the attitude towards pinching is different:
- Early undersized standard ones do not stepchild at all.
- In other determinants, one or two stepsons are left and formed into two or three stems. If they form into one stem (the lower shoots are removed), then the upper ones are left to continue fruiting.
- In indeterminate varieties in the open field, all stepchildren are removed. If an additional shoot is left, then after four or five fruit brushes pinch the tops of the stems.
On the windowsill
It is better to grow special compact balcony varieties of tomatoes that do not require pinching. If determinant varieties are planted, then you need to choose the standard and the shortest ones, remove all stepchildren. The food in the limited volume of the pot is not enough for a large bush. In addition, a large amount of green mass will create shading.
To correctly determine how to stepson tomatoes, you need to know exactly the variety and conditions in which the bush will be grown.
If there is not enough experience, or the variety is not known, it is worth leaving one shoot above two flower brushes, so that if the plant turns out to be with limited growth, the plant will not be left without a top. Compliance with the rules of pinching tomatoes will allow you to get a good harvest of fruits and prevent thickening of plantings.
