A term you'll often hear when discussing tomato plants is "Suckers". Most people will agree that they are not great and should be pinched off. You may have grown tomatoes before, never plucked them off and even witnessed them produce tomatoes. So why would you want to get rid of them?
Where to Find Suckers?
Suckers can be found in-between the fork of the main stem and side branch. Usually starting as small shoots, these suckers can grow to full size and become just as large as any other branch on the plant. They will often begin growing a few weeks after the branch has formed off the main stem. So if they grow to be full size, and produce tomatoes. Why should you worry about them? Well as the name suggest, they Suck energy from the main plant and its branches in a way.
Why Suckers are Bad
This mostly applies to indeterminate tomato varieties. Varieties that continue to grow and produce fruit. Determinate varieties are not at as much risk from suckers, and it is generally assumed that you can leave them on the plant.
As mentioned they do produce healthy branches and tomatoes, but bring with them 2 main issues.
First unlike peppers, tomatoes often require support for their own weight. When it comes to heavier varieties such as beef stake or other heirloom varieties these plants can become extremely heavy. Suckers help to destabilize the plants weight and if left to get out of control their multiple branches and fruit can collapse the plant. Aswell, tomato plants are very susceptible to blight. It is recommended to prune back extra vegetation to help promote air flow. Suckers only seek to exacerbate this issue and drastically impact the air flow amongst plants. So the first main issue is about weight and balance of the plant.
Secondly, the main plant itself will produce more than enough tomatoes, there is no need to jeopardize the stability of it for a few more tomatoes. The fruit produced from tomato sucker stems is often smaller than fruit produced from the main stems and its branches. This decreased yield is another factor to consider when choosing to remove suckers. If given proper space, indeterminate tomatoes will produce more healthy fruit without suckers.
What to do
In general, if you decide you want to begin pruning suckers its best to start early. Begin pinching or cutting off suckers when they are thin little shoots. This is the best way to prevent damage to the plant. If left unattended suckers can grow quickly and out of control. If the sucker stem has grow too large, it may be best just to leave it instead of risking damage to the plant.
All in all a few suckers will not pose a noticeable risk to the plant.
So, if you are growing a indeterminate tomato in your garden. It is best to prune off the suckers and allow the plant to grow up its supports and produce lots of healthy tomatoes.
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