Brioso conducted research into the influence of picking tomato plant leaves on the final yield of these tomato plants. In the research, three different treatments were performed on tomato plants:
- A group in which 33 percent of the young leaves were removed and 11-12 leaves remained unaffected.
- Two groups where 55 percent of the leaves were removed, one group retained 8-9 leaves, and the other group retained 10-11 leaves.
All plants were illuminated for 18-19 hours.
The study looked at the maximum absorption of the (limited) winter light, by spacing the plants well. It also looked at removing "superfluous" leaves, which should ensure minimal maintenance respiration. Finally, it looked at reducing energy consumption by less ventilation.
Findings
The plants where 33 percent of the young leaves were picked looked the best during the trial. When more leaves were picked, it caused more leaf loss the following year.
The bunches that developed also all had thin stems and were quite weak. The size of the fruits was also not good. This also has a lot to do with the fact that there were completely different weather conditions compared to the year before, which caused crops to grow less well this year in general.
The idea behind this research is to show that the balance between light and temperature is important to make your crops grow well. In late autumn and winter you have to be careful with the temperature and possible growth tube, because otherwise your crops can burn and fruits become smaller. Towards spring you have to stop picking leaves in time, so that the plant can grow stronger.
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