
Cultivation of Tomato (Full Guide)




Introduction
in this article, I’m going to tell you about the Cultivation of Tomato
- Botanical name: Solanum Lycopersicon
- Family: Solanaceae
- Botanical Features
- Leaf type – Compound leaves
- Leaf arrangement – Alternate
- Number of sepals, petals – they are 5 petals and sepals
- Flower petal colour – yellow colour
- Stamen number – 5 stamen
- Fruit type – fleshy
Growth Habit
- According to the growth of the shoots, there are three growing types
- Determinate type (Bush type) – Set and ripen all fruits at nearly the same times. Suitable for cultivated in an open areas
- Indeterminate type (vine type) – Continue growing and set fruits over a long period of time. Suitable for greenhouse cultivation
- Semi-determinate – Show growth characters of determinate type and indeterminate type
Importance
- Use to produce value-added products – Sauce, tomato ketchup, tomato paste
- Rich in Vitamins and minerals – vitamin A, Vitamin C
- Contain lycopene pigment – Lycopene pigment includes in red colour tomatoes. Lycopene is important to prevent cancer
Soil and Climatic requirements




- Soil requirements
- Tomato grows well on most mineral soil that has proper water holding capacity and aeration
- It prefers deep well-drained soil
Climatic requirements
- Temperature – 20 °C – 27°C
- Day-night temperature difference – 6 °C
- High temperature affect for fruit setting
- pH 5.8 – 6.8
- Elevation (1000 – 2000m)
- Maintaining and develop of the fruit. Adverse climatic conditions may affect for poor productions
- High temperature during flower season may cause for
- Delaying flowering, poor pollination, Shuttering of flowers, Rapid spreading of fungal diseases
- Very low and high temperature adversely effect for the crop
Cultivation




Field Establishment and cultural practices
- Time of Planting – mid-march or End of August
- Nursery Management
- Seed requirement – 200 – 250Kg/ha
- Nursery period 14 – 21 days
- 1m*3m size raised bed is recommended
Land preparation
- Selected field should not have a history of a cultivation of a solanaceous crop
- Plough the land to a depth of 20 – 30cm
- Prepare levelled raised beds to a height of 15 -20cm
- Make planting holes
- Spacing – 80 – 85cm
- Size of hole (1x1x1) /(30x30x30)cm
- Incorporate well-decomposed organic matter – 6-12 t/ha
Field establishment
- Field establishment is one of the most important aspects of Cultivation of Tomato
- Before uproot seeding from the nursery moisten then nursery bed thoroughly
- Tray nurseries, potted plants or block nurseries can be used to minimize damages on root
- One plant per hole
- Planting in the afternoon
- Heavy rainy periods not suitable for cultivation
- Seeding must be shaded with plant material until they are established
Other cultural practices
Irrigation
- Water the plant regularly especially during
- Uneven water application leads to physiological disorders in fruits.
- Early days irrigate daily. Thereafter watering should be done based on the crop requirement
Weed Management
- It should be done in 3 and 6 weeks after transplanting. Straw mulch can be used to suppress weeds
Staking
- done before covering
- to avoid falling of plant need to provide any support (2-3 weeks after planting)
Training and Pruning
- Training and Pruning is one of the most important aspects of Cultivation of Tomato
- Indeterminate types
- By using sharp knife old lateral branches should be removed
Fertilizer application
(Kg/ha)
UREA | TSP | MOP | |
BD | 65 | 325 | 65 |
TD1 (3WAP) | 65 | ||
TD2 (6WAP) | 65 | 65 |
Pests and Diseases control




Pests
1.Tomato pod borer (Helicovera armigera)
- Damage and symptoms – damage to leaves, flowers, bores in fruits
- Control – if the damages are not severe collect and destroy the caterpillars. If the damages are severe apply insecticide
Leaf minor (Liriomyza sativae)
- Damage and symptoms – large consume internal tissues of the leaves
- It may cause for reduction of food production
- Control – remove damaged leaves, yellow coloured polythene trap, protect natural enemies.
White fly (Bemisa tabaci)
- Damage and Symptoms – they suck sap from the leaves
- Control – yellow coloured polythene trap
Cut worm
- Damage and Symptoms- cut the base
- Control – ploughing the soil to expose to sunlight, flooding the land with water
Cucurbit fly (Bactocera diversa)
- Damage and Symptoms – Damage to Fruits
- Control – Pheromone trap, deep burring of affected fruits
Nematode attack (Meloidigyne spp.)
- Damage – from knots due to damage of female nematodes, adversely affect root functions and nutrient intake. damaged plants get stunted, wilting and pale colour leaves
- Control – turning of soil crop rotation, apply poultry manual
Other pests – leaf-eating caterpillars, Aphids, Leaf Hoppers, Trips, tomato bugs
Disease control
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial wilt
- Causal organisum – Bacterial
- Symptoms – sudden and permanently wilting similar to water stress, the foliage remains green .first wilt younger leaves from adventitious roots at the basal part of the stem
- Control – crop rotation, use wilt resistant varieties, soil sterilization
Fungi diseases
Dumping off
- Symptoms – Rotting the base of the nursery plants and die off
- Control – prepare nursery beds in well-drained virgin soil or subsoil, use fungicides – Thiran, Captan
Early Bright
- Symptoms – Symptoms first appear on the lower, older leaves as brown spots with contriving. as the disease matures, it spread outward on the leaf surface causing it to turn yellow and die. The stem, fruit and upper portion of the plant will become infected. fruit can be infected at any stage of maturity; spots on fruits are leathery, black with raised concentric ridges and generally occur near the stem, infected fruit may drop from the plant
- Control – apply recommended fungicides, crop rotation
Late Bright
- Symptoms – irregularly shaped water-soaked lesions can be observed on young leaves. At the top part of the plant. under humid conditions, lesions become brown. brown lesions can occur on stems and leaf pedicels
- Control – ensure field sanitation by eliminating diseased materials, grow resistance verities, used recommended fungicides, remove unnecessary branches and leaves
Virus
Anthracnose
- Causal Organism – Fungi
- Sunken brown spots on fruits and leaves, discolouration of buds and dieback of plants, affected flowers fall off
- Control – crop rotation, field sanitation, destroy affected plants, use recommended fungicides
Cucumber Mosaic Virus (C M V)
- Causal organism – Virus
- Symptoms – stunted plants, narrow leaves, mosaic appearance and curling of leaves, no uniform ripening of fruits
- Control – destroy affected plants
Tobacco mosaic virus (T M V)
- Causal organism – virus
- Symptoms – stunted plants, narrow leaves, mosaic appearance and curling of leaves, no uniform ripening of fruits
- Controls – destroy affected plants
Tomato curly top virus (CT)
- Causal organism – virus
- Symptoms – stunted plants, leaves curly upwards
- Reduce fruit size. Disease spread through leafhoppers. Not spreading through infected seeds or plant parts
- Control – vector control
Leaf curl virus
- Causal organism – virus
- Symptoms – Stunted plants, smaller leaves, straight apical bud, form yellow colour in between ribs, dropping of leaflets, a large number of lateral leaves, no fruit set. younger leaves affected first. Disease spread through whitefly, no spreading through infected seeds or plant parts
- Control – vector control, remove affected plants, crop cultivation
Spotted wilt
- Causal organism – virus
- Symptoms – Stunted plants, mature leaves turn to yellow colour, leaves get copper colour yellow or red colour patches on fruits surface
- Control – vector control, cultivate resistance varieties
Physiological disorders
Blossom end Rot
- Damage – Dark green water-soaked spots appear at the blossom end of the fruit and enlarge until the fruits begin to ripen. Affected tissues are hard and healthy initially but due to secondary infection, fruit rot can be developed
- Reasons – lack of water
- Control – properly maintain soil moisture, water regularly to avoid drought stress
Cracking of fruits
- Damage- concentric cracks form around the top of the tomato fruit or splitting of fruits
- Reasons – Rapid or sudden changes in soil moisture level. Ca deficiency, sudden rain or high temperature
- Control – cultivate resistance varieties, maintain soil moisture properly, Supply required amount of Calcium
Harvesting and Post Harvest operations




Harvesting
Harvesting is one of the most important aspects of Cultivation of Tomato
- Harvesting indices – when the colour changes from green to yellow should be harvested and 60 – 65 days after planting
- Method – Cut the fruit with stack by using a sharp knife
- Average yield – 20 -30 t/ha With sprinkler irrigation – 60 -65 t/ha
- Harvesting times
- Determinate type: 6 – 8
- Indeterminate type: 12-13
Post Harvest handling
- Collect harvested fruits to a container, do not drop on the soil, do not expose to the sun, do not on the floor, Grading and sorting pack in well-ventilated crates (20 – 25kg). cold storage is suitable
check out my other article: Manioc/Cassava/Tapioca Cultivation (Full Guide)
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