TOMATO CULTIVATION PRACTICES

Importance : Tomatoes are very healthy as they are a good source of

vitamins A and C. Vitamin A is important for bone growth, cell division
and differentiation, for helping in the regulation of immune system and
maintaining surface linings of eyes, respiratory, urinary and intestinal
tracts. Vitamin C is important in forming collagen, a protein that gives
structures to bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels. It also helps
maintain capillaries, bones and teeth and aids in the absorption of iron.

Soil

Well drained loamy soils rich in organic matter with a pH range of 6.5-
7.5.

Season of sowing

May – June(Spring summer)

November – December(Autumn winter)

March- April (hills)

Field preparation

 Plough the land to fine tilth. Apply well rotten FYM @ 25 t/ ha and
form ridges and furrows at a spacing of 60 cm.
 Apply 2 kg/ha of Azospirillum and 2 kg/ha of Phosphobacteria by
mixing with 50 kg of FYM.
 Irrigate the furrows and transplant 25 days old seedlings on the
sides of ridges. Lite irrigation to be given on 3rd day of planting.
Nursery bed preparation

Prepare the nursey bed of 1m width, 15cm height and length of your
convient size
Apply

 FYM 10 kg,
 Neem cake 1 kg,
 VAM 50 g,
 enriched Superphosphate 100 g
 Furadon 10 g.

Spacing
November-December (autumn winter crop) : 75 x 60cm

May-June(spring summer crop) : 75 x 45cm.

Seed rate

 Open pollinated(op) :400-500 gms

170 gms/acre

 Hybrid(F1) : 125-175 gms/ha

65gms/acre
Seed treatment:

Treat the seeds with Thiram at 3g/kg

Mulching
Mulch with black LDPE(low density polythene) sheets of 25 micron
thickness and bury both the ends into the soil to a depth of 10 cm

Irrigation

 Proper irrigation required with a proper interval of time

 Drip irrigations can also be used.

Weed control

 pre-emergence herbicide: Pendimethalin 1.0 kg a.i./ha or

Fluchloralin 1.0 kg a.i /ha
 manual : hand weeding once at 30 days after planting
Growth regulators
Triacontanol- Spray 1.25 ppm (625 ml in 500 litres of water) at 15 days
after transplanting and at full bloom stage to increase the yield.

Training of hybrids

 Stake the plants 30 days after planting with 1 - 1.5 m tall stakes.
( for indeterminate variety)

 Remove the side branches up to 20 cm from ground level.

Fertigation schedule for tomato hybrids

Recommended dose: 200:250: 250 kg / ha

1. Basal dose-19:19:19 = 132 kg / ha

2. Flower initiation-12:61:0 = 62 kg / ha
3. Fruit setting-13:0:45 = 500 kg / ha
4. Alternate day from picking-12:61:0 kg/ha
5. Urea = 223 kg / ha(4 intervels)
 IMPORTANT PESTS

Fruit Borer:

Management:

 Collect and destroy the infected fruits and grown up larvae

 Growing of marigold plant in the plot as a host plant
 Use of helilure pheromone traps.
 Provide poison bait with carbaryl 50 WP 1.25 kg, rice bran 12.5 kg,
jaggery 1.25 kg and water 7.5 lit/ha
 Spray Bacillus thuringiensis 2g/lit or any one of the following
insecticide

Whitefly:

Management

Uproot and destroy the diseased leaf curl plants

  Use nitrogen and irrigation judiciously.
 Remove alternate weed host if found
 Use yellow sticky traps at 12/ha to attract and kill insects.
 Apply carbofuran 3% G @ 40 kg /ha or spray any one of the
following insecticides

Insecticide Dose
Dimethoate 30 % EC 1.0 ml/lit.
Malathion 50 % EC 1.5 ml/ lit.
Oxydemeton –Methyl 1.0 ml/ lit.
25 % EC
Thiamethoxam 25 % 4.0 ml/10 lit.
WG

Thrips:

Management:

 Mechanically uproot the diseased plants and destroy them

 Use yellow sticky traps @ 15/ha.
 Spray methyl demeton 25 EC @1lit/ha or dimethoate 30 EC
@1lit/ha
 IMPORTANT DISEASE

Damping off:

Symptoms

 Damping off disease occurs in nursery stage

 Damping off of tomato occurs in two stages, i.e. the pre-

emergence and the post-emergence phase.
 Pre emergence phase-before seed germinate out from the soil.
 post-emergence phase-infection of the young seedlings(near the
lower bark)
 The infected tissues become soft and water soaked. The seedlings
topple over or collapse.

Management

 Used raised seed bed

 Irrigation should be light for proer drainage(Avoid over irrigation
like stagnation of water around the plant)
 Drench with Copper oxychloride 0.2% or Bordeaux mixture 1%.
 Seed treatment with fungal culture Trichoderma viride (4 g/kg of
seed) or Thiram (3 g/kg of seed) is the only preventive measure to
control the pre-emergence damping off.
 Spray 0.2% Metalaxyl when there is cloudy weather
Fusarium Wilt :

Symptom

 The first symptom of the disease is clearing of the veinlets and

chlorosis of the leaves.
 The younger leaves may die in succession and the entire may wilt
and die in a course of few days. Soon the petiole and the leaves
droop and wilt.
 In young plants, symptom consists of clearing of veinlet and
dropping of petioles. In field, yellowing of the lower leaves first and
affected leaflets wilt and die.
 The symptoms continue in subsequent leaves. At later stage,
browning of vascular system occurs. Plants become stunted and
die.

Management

 The affected plants should be removed and destroyed.

 Spot drench with Carbendazim (0.1%)
 Crop rotation with a non-host crop such as cereals.
Bacterial wilt :

Symptom

 This is one of the most serious diseases of tomato crop. Relatively

high soil moisture and soil temperature favour disease
development.
 Sudden wilting of the healthy plant
 Lower leaves may drop before wilting.
 Apply bleaching powder @ 10kg/ha.

Management

 Crop rotations, viz., cowpea-maize-cabbage, okra-cowpea-maize,

maize- cowpea-maize and finger millet-egg plant are reported
effective in reducing bacterial wilt of tomato.

Leaf curl:

Symptom

 The new growth of plants with tomato yellow leaf curl has reduced
internodes, giving the plant a stunted appearance
 The new leaves are also greatly reduced in size and wrinkled, are
yellowed between the veins, and have margins that curl upward,
giving them a cup-like appearance
  Flowers may appear but usually will drop before fruit is set

Management

 Keep yellow sticky traps @ 12/ha to monitor the white fly.

 Raise barrier crops-cereals around the field.
 Removal of weed host. Protected nursery in net house or green
house.
 Spray Imidachloprid 0.05 % or Dimethoate 0.05% @ 15, 25, 45
days after transplanting to control vector.