The “defeminization” of the tomato is a job that is done in the garden as the plant develops. This cultivation operation takes different names depending on the area, in addition to defeminization it is indicated as checkerboard, grazing or castration .
Whatever its name, it is a very useful work: it consists of a green pot to eliminate a part of the plant which would be unproductive, in order to favor the branches which bear flowers and therefore fruit instead. This is a typical job to do in the garden during the month of May and it is very easy to do.
Tomato twigs that stick out are called cactus, axillary, bastard or female shoots, these are basically suction cups . By removing these so-called axillary buds, the plant can concentrate its energy on the parts useful to the grower, to the benefit of its productivity.
Besides blurring during cultivation it is important to remember to attach the plant to the guards during its growth, these two tasks are often neglected but very useful for the cultivation of tomatoes.
Contents [Ocultar]
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When to remove armpit pimples
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How to do the definition
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Recognize females
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Cut
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female cuttings
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Why prune the tomato
Contents
When to remove armpit pimples
First, there’s an important distinction to make: not all tomato plants need pruning. “Dwarf” varieties, i.e. varieties with specific growth, have a weaker vegetative development and do not require this intervention, whereas in indeterminate tomatoes pruning work should be done periodically.
The females begin to sprout very early in the seedling, when it is still very young, but are usually eliminated. after they are more than 3/4 cm long . When they are smaller, the work is unnecessarily complicated, since even the branch to be maintained will be thin. By waiting a few days for growth, it will be very easy to identify and remove the cacti. However, do not wait for the armpits to grow too much, because the more they grow, the more the plant loses its strength. Also, removing large females is more difficult: you risk damaging the stem of the plant, whereas when the branches are about 4-5 cm long they are easily removed by tearing them with your hands.
For these reasons, it is advisable to start work when the first armpits exceed 3 cm and therefore to be constant in remove them every 7-10 days . Normally, sowing begins in May but this of course depends on the time of planting and the climate of the area where the garden is located.
How to make the offset
The chess set is very easy to do and takes a few minutes for each plant. The operation is within everyone’s reach: it is certainly not a complex pruning, everyone can learn to do it in a few minutes.
recognize women
The females or cacti are those shoots that form at the junction between the trunk and the actual branch of the plant. Normally, stadia point more or less horizontally, while females point more vertically. For anatomical comparison, the area between the stadium and the shaft is called the armpit, so we are talking about axillary buds.
Figuring out which hickeys to remove is easier in practice than explaining. Photos can help, after sucking a plant you will have no doubts about how to distinguish cacti from good branches.
power to carve
The defemination operation is very simple and does not necessarily require any tools: once a female is identified, all you need to do is take it between the fingers and rip it manually. Only if the axils are overgrown, it is necessary to use shearing, so as not to risk damaging the plant.
To do a job well done, you have to look closely at the tomato plant from head to toe, so that all axillary buds are removed .
Since approximately one slap is given each week, this can also be an opportunity to tie a tomato branch in support, another operation that will be done periodically, as the plant develops.
woman cut
We can also use the removed females to get new tomato plants, rooting the twigs with the cutting technique. Once rooted, they can be planted in the field.
Why prune the tomato
There is more than one reason why tomato pruning is practiced, we have already mentioned wanting to concentrate the forces of the plant on the productive branches, but there are also other advantages derived from this type size, I summarize them in the list below.
- Gives more light to fruits . Thinning the branches allows tomatoes to receive more light, with improved fruit quality and shorter ripening time.
- air the plant . If the plant has better air circulation, fungal diseases are better prevented, avoiding creating conditions for the proliferation of spores.
- Collect more tomatoes . As already written, the elimination of females is intended to allow the plant to concentrate on the fruit branches, improving the quantity, size and quality of the harvest.
A messy forest of never-chewed tomatoes: the fruits are in the shade.