I wonder... is there also a verb called tomatoing applicable to prunes?
Why pruning is important?
A tomato is a solar-powered sugar factory. For the first month or so,
it doubles its size every
12 to 15 days. When the plant is 30 to 50 cm tall, its focus changes to branching and making flowers and fruit and the
entire character of the tomato plant changes. If unsupported, the
increasing weight of filling fruit and multiple side branches forces the
plant to lie on the ground. Once the main stem is horizontal, there is
an increased tendency to branch. Left to its own devices, a vigorous
indeterminate tomato plant can easily cover a 2x2 meter area with as
many as 10 stems, each 1-1.5 meter long. By season's end, it will be an
unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle.
With pruning, we want to maximize the efficiency of photosynthesis and
minimize the risk of disease. Pruning ensures each leaf has plenty of room and is supported up off the ground. When a
tomato plant lies on the ground, or when its growth is extremely dense,
many of its leaves are forced into permanent shade, greatly reducing
the amount of sugar they produce. If a leaf uses more sugar than it
makes, eventually it will yellow and drop off. A pruned and staked plant
will produce larger fruit two to three weeks earlier than a prostrate
one.
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