Early Pruning Effects on 'Florida-47' and 'Sungard' Tomato

• Published in: HortTechnology (Alexandria, Va.) Va.), 2008, Vol.18 (3), p.467-470
• Main Author: Santos, Bielinski M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: crop quality; crop yield; cultivars; disease incidence; economic analysis; flowers; foliar diseases; height; plant architecture; plant development; pruning; Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum; stems; tomatoes; vigor
• ISSN: 1063-0198; 1943-7714
• DOI: 10.21273/horttech.18.3.467

The effects of early pruning on the growth and yield of 'Florida-47' and 'Sungard' tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) were assessed in west-central Florida. Each cultivar was established in separate experiments. The four pruning treatments consisted of leaving one, two, and three main stems in the tomato plants below the first flower cluster, and a nonpruned control. Pruning shoots had significant effects on the plant height of 'Sungard' and 'Florida-47' at 4 and 3 weeks after transplanting, respectively. Tomato plants with a single stem were 13% and 10% taller than the ones in the nonpruned control, respectively. However, this effect disappeared 1 and 2 weeks later in both cultivars. Regardless of the cultivar, early pruning did not influence foliar disease incidence or early and total tomato marketable yield. This cultural practice did not affect the partitioning to different fruit categories in either cultivars. This data showed that early pruning can temporarily change the plant architecture of 'Sungard' and 'Florida-47' tomato, explaining the perceived increased plant vigor in comparison with the nonpruned control. However, the effect disappeared during the growing season and did not reflect on marketable yields of either tomato cultivars. If no pruning were performed in these cultivars, growers would be able to save an estimated $40/acre of tomato.