What's the difference between "indeterminate" and "determinate" tomatoes? Shoots may be formed by fixed (determinate) growth, free (indeterminate) growth, or a combination of both. Usually, determinate tomatoes don’t need any pruning at all. Thus, a plant that grows and produces flowers and fruit until killed by frost or some other external factor is called indeterminate. Typically, indeterminate tomatoes need regular pruning for better production. Growth habits: determinate vs. indeterminate. They need pruning in different stages of plant growth. Determinate tomato plants are small and bushy, typically no more than four to five feet tall. Indeterminate plants continue to develop leaves on the main stem and branches throughout flowering. The terms determinate and indeterminate are descriptions of how a tomato plant grows. Determinate tomatoes, or "bush" tomatoes, are varieties that grow to a compact height (generally 3 - 4'). Determinate growth: a type of growth characteristic of most animals and some plant organs, in which the growth stopes after a certain size it reaches. If you want a thick tomato for making sauces, you are better off with a paste tomato, which tends to be determinate. How determinate tomatoes and indeterminate tomatoes differ. But mild pruning of lower older leaves, dry leaves, or any diseased leaves of plants can perform better. Examples: leaves, thorns, flowers On the most basic level, that really just means that one type of plant grows and grows without end and the other experiences growth for a … In indeterminate cultivars, the shoot continues to grow upward and flower clusters appear to develop to the side of a main shoot or main stem. Each flower cluster is referred to as a 'hand'. Both determinate and indeterminate tomato varieties have their pluses and minuses. All the tomatoes from the plant ripen at approximately the same time (usually over period of 1- 2 weeks). Determinates stop growing when fruit sets on the top bud. The difference between determinate and indeterminate ultimately boils down to the length of harvest and the time of harvest. The primary shoot of a young tomato plant produces 5 to 10 leaves, then produces a flower cluster. Fixed growth involves the elongation of preformed stem units after a rest period. Once soybeans begin to flower, indeterminate and determinate plants differ dramatically in stem growth habit. It really depends on what you are going to be using the tomatoes for and how long your growing season is. Growth of both types is similar during the vegetative growth phase until flowering. Resistant Varieties for both Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes include some of the following: A Alternia (early blight) stem canker;, " VFN " indicates the variety is resistant to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt (generally both races of the Fusarium wilt fungus), and root-knot nematodes. 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