186 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



Pruning tomato vines. 



Whether it will pay to prune or trellis a commercial crop 

 of tomatoes can only be determined by trial. Many 

 fungous diseases may be thus kept off or lessened. 



There are two reasons for pruning tomatoes. The first 

 is to bring the earliest fruit in earlier than it would ripen 

 without pruning. The second is to develop the fruit 

 to its fullest extent. The earliest form of pruning was to 

 remove all the side shoots, and thus train the plant to 

 one main stem, or vine, as it is usually called ; this being 

 either tied to a stake or fastened to a trellis. While this 

 does much toward producing a good crop, it does little in 

 the way of bringing the crop in earlier. From experience, 

 it has been proved that the earliest tomatoes can be forced 

 to ripen a week or even two weeks earlier by topping than 

 those which have not been topped. By topping or cutting 

 out the terminal bud just below the second cluster of 

 blossoms before the first cluster has begun to open, the 

 growing force is thrown into the first cluster. It is not 

 at all uncommon, under such treatment, to have this 

 cluster produce from five to seven tomatoes, and all of 

 these to ripen at nearly the same time. While the crop 

 is much smaller than it would have been as a whole if no 

 topping had occurred, the early crop comes in so much 

 eariier that it more than compensates for the loss in 

 quantity. Staked plants are usually topped after they 

 have set three or four clusters. 



Pruning should not be carried too far, however, as the 

 leaf surface of the plant must be suflicient to assimilate 

 the crude material that is absorbed by the roots. If 



