Just a guess without knowing the name of the variety, but suckers only grow on indeterminate varieties and do grow only from the V notch formed by main stem and leaf branch. So it sounds like you have a determinate variety (which grows and produces just as you describe and shouldn't be pruned) rather than an indeterminate variety that may require some pruning.

If it is a determinate, then those aren't 'suckers' but normal growth and removing them only ends your production.

Dave

Okay, #1 ... side shoots often are called "suckers" but are side shoots or lateral shoots (same thing) none the less. All tomato vines, whether determinate or indeterminate, produce side shoots.

#2 ... all side shoots, lateral shoots, or if you prefer "suckers," emerge from the crotch of a leaf node regardless of whether the tomato vine is determinate or indeterminate. Side shoots don't emerge straight out of the main stem at a smooth point in between internodes.

Yes, some vines will develop twin main growing stems by "forking" at a point other than a leaf internode, but that can happen with indeterminate or determinate varieties, and is not "normal," rather it happens occasionally.

The difference between determinate and indeterminate is that after beginning to produce side shoots, determinate vines produce side shoots at every internode or every other internode rather than every third or more distant internode like indeterminate vines do.

You apparently have something unusual going on, but without a picture, no one can say for certain what it is. I've seen shoots grow out from a flower cluster. Is that what's happening? Doesn't sound like it, though. Do you have pictures?

Bill

alot of my heirloom varieties after about the 4 node like to actualy split the meristamatic tip likes to split once then its like usual where just the normal sucker or crotch shoots ,
grow like mad ,i have 42 on 18" centers ill post some pics,(cherokee purple, ind. , campari ind., burpee delicious, and black sea man det.)

chero, delic, camp, all ind. i train to 1 main stem plucking suckers all season, chero from seed savers, delicious from burp , campari from super market and black sea from tomato fest,

black seamen i do not sucker or train since its a det. i let it do its thing only plucking the weaker or messed up looking shoot growth. just good good suport.

I am actually growing Tomato Better Bush Improved Hybrid from park seed.

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=5338&PrevMainPage=advsearchresults&scChannel=Vegetables%20AS&SearchText=p16.v231;s1.Tomato&OfferCode=VH1

I will post pictures later.

If I recall correctly that is an short internode variety (they call them ISI). Been several years since I tried it but it only gets about 3-4' tall at best. "Bush" varieties definitely don't need and pruning - they have been hybridized to grow as very short plants - and what you are calling 'suckers' are normal branches which will produce fruit.

Dave

Sometimes the growing point of a stem, apical meristem, has something happen to it that divides the cells that differentiated into stems - similar to an identical twin. The result is what looks like two fused stems growing together.

Flowers, stems and leaves are all initiatied in the apical meristem way before the eye can see them. If something environmental interfers or alters those processes then strange things can result.

It could also be a genetic flaw.