I noticed as I do more and more research that no one can agree about whether or not to prune or pinch back tomato plants of useless branches and/or "suckers". Personally I think it is a good idea to get rid of the branches that are not going to produce in order to save the nutrients for the branches that are going to produce. Suckers are called that because they suck nutrients from the plant before they can get to the fruits. Suckers are like little branches that begin to grow between the main stem and a branch stem. These little defective branches will not give you any added fruit and can actually take away from the rest of the plant. I would recommend getting rid of these suckers to offer more nutrients for the fruit bearing branches.
Do not go overboard and take off a ton of branches, but if they look "sick" and are not growing any larger, remove them. Do this by using either your finger nails or a sharp knife, and pinching or cutting the useless branches at the base. The plants will heal relatively fast and grow even better than before. There is no need to be too picky. If you miss a couple here and there don't worry, the plants should continue to grow, just maybe not quite as well.
Remember, Mother Earth smiles when you garden!
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