Protect green leaf area; leaves feed fruit, seed, and roots

Leaves turn light into sugars that move to fruit, tubers, growing tips, and roots. Anything that punches holes, yellows the canopy, or shades the row reduces that factory.

Hot, bright seasons still need green area — not a stripped skeleton. Do not strip leaves to “help fruit colour” while the crop is still filling. Space plants so light reaches the canopy without cooking the soil.

If fruit stays small after a pest wave, missing leaf area is as real as a missed irrigation.

In this series

• Wilt is lost cell firmness — judge water by the plant, not only the soil
• Protect green leaf area; leaves feed fruit, seed, and roots
• Do not wreck young feeder roots at transplant
• Removing the tip releases side shoots
• Match the flower to how it is pollinated
• Families are field shortcuts; lookalikes can still be dangerous