Defoiliating tomatoes?

[Snadger]

I've noticed that quite a few allotment holders have defoliated there greenhouse tomatoes to help them ripen.
Apart from letting what little bit sun we get, shine on the crop,is there any evidence to suggest this is good practice?
I haven't defoliated mine (apart from the leaves near the bottom) because I don't want to be seen as a sheep, (Baaaaaah!) and mine look no better or worse than tuthers!
For the time being I will air on the side of photosynthesis!

[shirlthegirl43]

I chopped most of the leaves off mine this year since it seems to be the done thing. However, I have noticed that the healthiest plant left is the one 'shaded' by my chili plant. Next year I will leave the majority of leaves on but thin them out - like I did last year when my plants stayed healthy, flowering and fruiting until the greenhouse blew away (Hope the proper glass greenhouse stays put)

[Matt.]

Yes I defoliated mine in late August before I went on holiday. Mine had all set before then because I start them early. It stops the plant drying out especially if you grow in a confined space such as pots and growbags. They were watered only once in three weeks but were absolutly fine despite the constant hot weather.

[wellie]

I'm with Matt, as once the fruits are growing well at this time of year, the foliage is doing very little for the plant. Think of it this way, if frost threatened, you'd pick the green tomatoes and take them indoors to ripen (no foliage). I have been consistently thinning the foliage from mine since about July. But it's entirely up to personal choice, there's no right or wrong here.

[rustylady]

Personally I only remove foliage if it's dead, dying or diseased. Has always worked well for me until this year when none of my tomatoes performed as they should have. As has already been said, I think it's a matter of personal choice.