Should I trim away branches on my tomatoe plant that have no flowers on them?

Question:my friend says that branches on the tomatoe plant that have no flowers on them should be trimmed away. That these are suckers. On the other hand, he says, i should use my judgement and leave some of these because something about the leaves give something to the root of the plant that is good. He has me totally confused. But he always has a very nice harvest and his plants are so 'neatly' growing.

Answers:
The leaves on the higher branches provide shade and protect tomatoes from getting burned by the sun. If you want to trim your tomato plant consider only trimming the branches that will not provide shade for the growing tomatos.

For larger tomatoes:
When flowers turn into tiny green tomatoes, they normally appear in small clusters. Remove (thin) all but 2 or 3 from the cluster so the remaining tomatoes will receive more nourishment.

Good Luck,