Plant growth habit in which stems stop growing at a certain height and produce a flower cluster at the tip Determinate tomatoes are short, early, have a concentrated fruit set and do not require staking
Also called Bush varieties These plants reach a certain height and then stop growing Fruits usually ripen over a four to six week period Many fruits mature at the same time
Determinate means fixed and definite. a contract for the exclusive possession of land for some determinate period. indeterminate. definite or with an exact limit indeterminate
precisely determined or limited or defined; especially fixed by rule or by a specific and constant cause; "a determinate distance"; "a determinate number"; "determinate variations in animals"
These plants reach a fixed height, then develop flower buds at the tip of each stem Determinate tomatoes, for example, grow in bush form with all the fruit developing and ripening about the same time The harvest period is very short In contrast, indeterminate varieties (typically vining types) continue to grow throughout the season, making much larger plants with a longer harvest season
tomato varieties grow to a certain (determined) size, then start flowering and fruiting They bear a heavy yield of fruits just about all at once, but then produce no more Grow this type if you have a short season to grow tomatoes or if you want a lot of fruits for canning all at one time
supplying or being a final or conclusive settlement; "a definitive verdict"; "a determinate answer to the problem"
Of a stem, when continuing growth is stopped by the abortion or permanent dormancy of the apical bud Of an inflorescence, when the terminal flower opens first and thereby arrests axis prolongation (for example, a cyme, a flat-topped inflorescence)
As applied to tomatoes, determinate refers to the growing habit of plants that are bushy, whose fruit ripen over a 3 - 4 week period, and generally do not need staking Caging is usually recommended