Heat or light

[rary]

Reading my last thread about leaves on tomato plants I see some Grapes remove some leaves to let the light in, I was told a number of years ago that heat was more important than bright light for ripening tomatoes, so what do you think is more important

[Penellype]

I agree that warmth is more important than light - I find no difference in ripening between shaded fruit and those in the sun. Direct heat is another matter - very hot sun on ripening fruit can cause greenback.

These are some Balconi Red that were developing during the very hot sunny spell we had in June. Tomatoes that were not on the window side of the plants were less affected.

[peanut]

I can't really do much about the heat other than open and close the door. Light, for me goes with air flow, so as the trusses appear I remove the lower leaves. My greenhouse is absolutely crammed, if I didn't remove some leaves from everything in there it would be as dark as the floor in the Amazon Rainforest!

[Snadger]

I remove lower leaves on toms to increase air flow around the base of the plants ,rather than give the tomatoes light.

[burnie]

When I was in Fuerteventura some years ago the poly tunnels were in fact covered with brown netting to shade the tommies and let some air through, one local told us(not that my Spanish is much good) that too much heat or sun is no good, as I live in NE Scotland I am unlikely to be bothered too much by either of those..........................

[ESBkevin]

It's more to do with airflow and the ease of picking.
If moisture hangs about botrytis, mildew and Blight are more likely to result.

[bramble]

My father worked in a big greenhouse setup growing tomatoes.
They always stripped the leaves from below a truss once they started ripening.
More airflow and less chance of disease.