Many people do things wrong all of their lives so that doesn't mean much. To a certain degree, if a plant has enough energy to produce 5kg of fruit then it'll either grow 25 big toms which equal 5kg or 50 small toms which add up to 5kg.
"Cordon tomatoes are best grown as single-stemmed plants. However, these vigorous plants naturally produce side-shoots from the joints where leaves sprout from the main stem. These side-shoots should be pinched out to keep plants growing vertically on just one stem. If they’re not removed, the side-shoots grow rapidly, forming a mass of long, scrambling, leafy stems that are difficult to support, produce few fruits and take up a lot of space. "
I don't prune mine and don't keep on top of side shoots towards the end of the season. I have bumper crops (still eating frozen passata from last year). Main reason why I probably should prune is that the plants get top heavy and they require a hell of a lot of water when it's hot. (Big plants need more water and possibly, but possibly not, more leaves transpiring = greater water loss?) Tomatoes are very forgiving, though, disease aside. Re blight and air flow... my suspicion is that if blight if is in the air, it will be hard to avoid. Last time I had it, so did all of my neighbours. They are both more careful than me with their tomatoes, spacing them out better than I do (mine are in quadgrows so quite close together) not letting them get out of hand but not very hard pruning them either, admittedly. But that's just anecdotal, not remotely scientific. A sizeable proportion of my plants are now always blight resistant varieties, following Dovefromabove's very sensible suggestion to me some years ago after I lost all my plants. But to go back to the original question, I don't think there is a 'right' answer. I suppose you could cut the extra branch off and see if you can root it and get another plant... would be an interesting experiment. Not sure if it works with big branches/stems though. Has anyone tried this?
I suppose you could cut the extra branch off and see if you can root it and get another plant... would be an interesting experiment. Not sure if it works with big branches/stems though. Has anyone tried this?
I've never had cause to do it, but have see it mentioned plenty of times, apparently it's very easy to duplicate toms via cuttings.
Small side shoots root easily. The trouble in U. K. is getting them up to fruiting size before frosts. I take side shoots out usually, but the odd one that has been missed gets tied to a new cane. I still have toms in freezer from last year. What do I know about growing in U.S.A.? nothing. I have been growing Tomato plants for sale and tomatoes to feed the family since I got my first greenhouse in 1968. Whatever I'm doing it works for me.
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To a certain degree, if a plant has enough energy to produce 5kg of fruit then it'll either grow 25 big toms which equal 5kg or 50 small toms which add up to 5kg.
tell that to RHS they found pruning is not required.
to stop blight you need to spray plants with correct chemicals
https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/tomatoes/grow-your-own
Cordon tomatoes – removing side-shoots
Re blight and air flow... my suspicion is that if blight if is in the air, it will be hard to avoid. Last time I had it, so did all of my neighbours. They are both more careful than me with their tomatoes, spacing them out better than I do (mine are in quadgrows so quite close together) not letting them get out of hand but not very hard pruning them either, admittedly. But that's just anecdotal, not remotely scientific.
A sizeable proportion of my plants are now always blight resistant varieties, following Dovefromabove's very sensible suggestion to me some years ago after I lost all my plants.
But to go back to the original question, I don't think there is a 'right' answer. I suppose you could cut the extra branch off and see if you can root it and get another plant... would be an interesting experiment. Not sure if it works with big branches/stems though.
Has anyone tried this?
Obvious typo