Botanical characteristics of tomatoes. Biological features of tomatoes Skin of a tomato performing structural features

Subject: " Tomato as a valuable vegetable crop

M aloyaz2008

Plan

National economic importance

Botanical characteristics of tomatoes

Biological features of tomato

Tomato varieties

Soil preparation, sowing

culture care

Diseases and pests

Storage conditions

Economic evaluation

National economic importance

The tomato comes from South America. It was brought to Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, and has been cultivated in Russia since the end of the 18th century. Tomato occupies the 2nd place among vegetable crops. In our country, it is grown annually on 240 thousand hectares, which is 23% of the total area under vegetable crops. It is widely used in fresh and processed food. Many tomatoes are processed in the canning industry. Widely used in salting, marinating, obtaining tomato puree, juice paste and sauces. The recommended consumption of tomato per person per year is 17 kg. Fruits have very high nutritional and dietary properties. They have excellent taste qualities due to the content of sugar 4-5%, proteins 0.5-1.5, organic acids, fiber, mineral salts and various vitamins. Tomatoes are widely practiced in home canning.

High productivity, wide distribution, good taste and variety of uses have made tomato one of the most common crops in our country.

The biological value of fruits is exceptionally high. 1 kg of them contains (mg): vitamin C - 250--300, 6-carotene 15--17, vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 1.0-1.2, vitamin B2 oflavin) - 0, 5 - 0.6, vitamin PP (nicotinic acid) - 4.1 - 4.5, vitamin I (lycopene) - 30 - 35, vitamin B9 (folic acid) - 0.75, vitamin H (biotin) - 0.04. In large quantities, fruits contain sugars (2.5-3.5%), proteins (0.6-1.1%), organic acids (0.4-0.6%), fats and essential oils. (0.2%), many different mineral salts. Tomato fruits also have phytoncidal properties. The knowledge of its biological characteristics, the implementation of all agrotechnical measures in the optimal time frame, and the correct selection of varieties contribute to an increase in the yield of tomato in household plots.

Subject to all these conditions in open ground with 1 m 2, you can get 5--7 kg of ripe fruits. In greenhouses, the yield is much higher - up to 15-20 and even 30 kg of fruit.

Botanical characteristictomatoes

Botanical features of tomato - an annual plant, the stem is herbaceous, erect or spreading, prone to branching, reaches various lengths from 30 cm to 2 m in open ground, and in greenhouses up to 5 m, the leaves are pinnate, lateral shoots are formed in the axils of the leaves. All green parts of tomato plants are covered with omission of long and short whitish stripes, which secrete a yellow-oily juice with a specific smell that repels insects.

After the formation of 5-14 leaves, inflorescences appear on the main stem. And from the upper lateral bud shoot (stepson), which continues the growth of plants, shoots grow continuously. Tomato flowers are yellow or multi-leaved, collected in a curl called a brush, the plant is self-pollinating. Tomato blooms during most of the growing season and hundreds of fruits weighing several tens of kilograms can form on one plant. The fruit of the tomato is a complex berry of two, four multi-celled. The shape of the fruit, size and color depends on the variety.

A young tomato has a tap root, and with the seedling method, the bulk is located in the upper 30-40 cm soil layer.

Tomato seeds are flat in color, forms at the base of a grayish-yellow color, omitted.

The tomato belongs to the nightshade family. Among the cultivated varieties, three varieties are distinguished. common tomato, having thin stems, lodging during the period of fruit formation. Almost 90% of all cultivated varieties belong to this variety. standard tomato, which is characterized by the compactness of the whole plant, erect thick stems, lodging under the weight of fruits, a leaf with a short petiole and a strongly corrugated surface. Varieties of this variety are much less common than the previous one. potato tomato, differing from the ordinary only in the structure of the leaf, it is large-lobed, similar to a potato. Varieties of the variety are practically not widely used.

In most cases, a tomato is an annual plant, but under certain conditions it is a biennial and a perennial. Propagated by seeds. They are flat, kidney-shaped, grayish-yellow in color, strongly pubescent. 1 g contains from 220 to 350 seeds. Their germination is well preserved for 5–7 years, and under certain conditions (constant air temperature + 14–16 ° C and humidity not lower than 75%), they germinate in the 10th and even 20th year of storage.

The root system of a tomato depends on the characteristics of cultivation and variety. Under optimal conditions, in vigorous varieties, it reaches 1.5-2.5 m in diameter and 1.0-1.5 m in depth. In protected ground, the bulk of the roots is located at a depth of 0.2-0.4 m.

Adventitious roots appear on the stem of a tomato anywhere when optimal conditions are created (high humidity of air and soil). This allows you to root individual parts of plants, such as stepchildren, and quickly get good planting material from them.

The stem of the tomato is round, juicy, erect, decumbent over time, covered with glandular hairs. During the fruiting period, it becomes rough, woody. Stepchildren appear from the axils of the leaves - lateral shoots. The strongest of them are those that form under the inflorescence.

The leaves of the tomato are alternate, unevenly pinnately dissected, consisting of lobes, lobules and lobules, and can only be of simple large lobes. The surface of the leaves is smooth or varying degrees of corrugation.

The inflorescence of a tomato is a curl, but is often called a brush by vegetable growers. The inflorescence is distinguished as simple, simple bilateral (when the axis of the inflorescence does not branch), intermediate (singly branched), complex (multiple branched) and very complex. The first inflorescence already begins to grow and develop when the second or third leaf appears on the plant, i.e., depending on the variety and external conditions, approximately 15-20 days after germination. During this period, it is necessary to strictly observe the mode of growing seedlings. The type of inflorescence largely depends on external conditions. A sharp change in temperature, light, mineral nutrition leads to a deviation from the normal development of the inflorescence. When the night air temperature is lowered during this period (+ 10--12 ° С), the first inflorescence is more branched, with a large number of flowers. High night temperatures (-)-22--24°C) contribute to the formation of fewer flowers on a longer and thinner than usual axis of the inflorescence.

In a greenhouse in winter or early spring, when there is very little light, inflorescences either do not form at all, or are very feeble, underdeveloped. On the contrary, in summer, in the same varieties, with an excess of light and high humidity of the soil and air, the inflorescence can reach a length of up to 0.5 m. Very often, under such conditions and in the presence of a large amount of nitrogen in the soil, they grow, i.e. form leaves or even run.

Under normal conditions, 50-60 days pass from germination to the beginning of flowering. Flowering occurs gradually, from the bottom up. When plants are formed into one stem (with the removal of all lateral stepchildren), indeterminate varieties bloom at the same time only three inflorescences, a maximum of four. Superdeterminant and determinant varieties, due to the more frequent arrangement of inflorescences (every one or two leaves), bloom more friendly.

On the inflorescence, the flowers located closer to the stem first open, and then gradually, depending on the variety and conditions, all the rest bloom within 5-15 days. Two to four flowers bloom at the same time. Each of them is open for an average of three to four days, then its color turns pale and the petals fade. In dry, hot weather, this period is reduced to two days, and in cloudy and cold weather it increases to five to seven days or more.

Tomato flowers are self-pollinating. But at high humidity, pollen grains swell, stick together, and pollination of flowers almost does not occur. Often in tomatoes (in large-fruited varieties) there are fasciated (fused) flowers, from which multi-chambered, ribbed and often deformed fruits are subsequently formed.

After fertilization of the ovules, the growth of the ovary begins. The tomato has an upper ovary, with a different number of nests. From flowering to fruit ripening takes 45-60 days.

The fruits are fleshy berries of various weights, shapes and colors. By weight, they are divided into small (less than 50 g), medium (50-120 g) and large (over 120 g). In some varieties, fruits weighing 600-800 g are found. In shape, they are flat, round, oval, pear-shaped and elongated-cylindrical. The surface of the fruit is smooth or ribbed. Depending on the number of chambers, they are small-chamber (two-three), medium-chamber (four-five) and multi-chamber (more than six), the latter being more ribbed. If there are less than four or five chambers in the fetus, then they are located correctly, symmetrically. Incorrect arrangement of chambers is characteristic of larger fruits; they have practically no pulp (placental tissue), few seeds, fleshy. Depending on the uniformity of the color of green fruits, all varieties of tomato are divided into those with a uniform color and with a dark green spot near the place of attachment of the stalk. The fruits of the varieties of the second group ripen completely slowly, but they have a brighter color. The taste of fruits is determined by the content of sugars and acids. The more sunny days, the higher this ratio, the better the taste of the fruit.

Biological features of tomato

Tomato is a heat-loving crop. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 13-15, the optimum temperature for seed germination is 18-21, and for the growth and development of plants, the temperature is 22-24. at temperatures below 15, flowering stops, and at 10, plant growth stops, a prolonged decrease in temperature to 10 leads to abscission of flowers, delaying fruiting by 10-12 days. At a temperature of 0.5, flowers die, and at a temperature of -1, leaves and stems die. However, hardening of swollen seeds and seedlings increases resistance to short-term frosts to -6, at a temperature of 30, pollen in many varieties of tomato loses its viability, plant growth slows down, and stops at a temperature of 35.

Flowering of a tomato for 50-70 days after germination, the dying off of plants continues. The fruits ripen within 45-60 days. At the beginning of the ovary and fruits are green, in milky ripeness they are whitish-green, and at blange ripeness the fruits turn yellow, and then turn pink, at full ripeness they turn red.

With heavy rainfall, fruit cracking is observed. Tomato is picky about light, does not tolerate blackouts.

The soil under the tomato should be fertile, moist and loose. In relation to moisture, the tomato is demanding, especially during the period of intensive fruit growth. Lack of moisture leads to cessation of growth, abscission of flowers and ovaries. In relation to the nutrients, the tomato consumes potassium, phosphorus and sodium the most. The lack of sodium weakens the growth of the stem and leaves, phosphorus contributes to the rapid ripening of fruits, the growth of roots and early flowering. Potassium improves the tenderness of the fruit, increases the shelf life.

Temperature. One of the main conditions for obtaining an early and good overall tomato crop is to maintain an optimal temperature regime for the plant. In different periods of growth and development, the plant requires a certain temperature of air and soil.

Tomato is a thermophilic plant. The optimum temperature for seed germination is + 24--26°C. At temperatures below + 10 ° C, they do not germinate. After the appearance of cotyledons and the first two true leaves in plants, the temperature is lowered to + 18--20 ° C during the day and + 14--15 ° C at night. This temperature regime contributes to the good development of the first inflorescence. After the appearance of the first buds on the plant, the temperature during the day is reduced to + 17--18 ° C, and at night it is raised to + 16 ° C.

The optimal air and soil temperature for a tomato is largely determined by the illumination and the content of carbon dioxide in the air. At different times of the year, the air temperature for the plant depends on the weather conditions. In sunny weather in summer - + 22--25 ° €, on a cloudy day + 20--22 ° С, at night + 16--18 ° С; in the winter and early spring months, when the illumination is very low, during the day + 17--19 ° С, and if it is very cloudy, then + 15 ° С; at night, the temperature can be reduced to +12 C. With a normal CO2 content in the air (0.03%) and normal lighting, the optimum temperature for tomato photosynthesis is within + 20--25 ° C. Under normal conditions, the air temperature above +25°C adversely affects photosynthesis. At a temperature of +30--32°C and above, a significant decrease in plant growth is observed. Pollen in such conditions becomes sterile, the flowers fall off without setting fruit. Temperatures below 14°C are also critical for fertilization. At temperatures below 10°C, plant growth stops.

Night temperature is always maintained below daytime. This is especially important during the period of fruit growth. The difference must be at least 5°C. This is necessary so that the substances assimilated by the plant during the day are not intensively consumed at night for respiration.

Soil temperature has a great influence on all life processes of a tomato plant. If it is below 14 ° C, the synthesis of substances necessary for the growth and development of buds stops in the root system. In general, it is inactive at such a temperature and cannot ensure normal growth and fruiting. The optimum soil temperature for tomatoes is +20--25°C.

In a tomato, a certain pattern can be traced in relation to temperature. The higher it is, the faster ripening occurs, the inflorescence is less branched, the fruits are smaller and have fewer chambers, the internodes are longer, etc., which ultimately leads to an early but low overall yield. On the contrary, at low temperatures, a later, but large harvest is obtained. Therefore, in relation to specific conditions, it is necessary to select the desired temperature regime of soil and air.

All varieties of tomato have different heat requirements. For example, F1 Carlson Tm C F and F1 Baby TmC prefer for their growth and development a temperature 1--2 ° C lower than recommended for the culture as a whole. Varieties bred in the northern regions of the country are characterized by increased cold resistance and lower heat resistance compared to varieties of southern selection. With proper hardening of seedlings, the tomato is able to withstand short-term cooling well (from +3 to 0 ° C). But even short-term negative temperatures (-0.5--1.0 ° C) have a detrimental effect on the plant.

Light. This is one of the main factors limiting the growth and development of plants, especially in protected ground. Tomato is very picky about light. The minimum illumination at which the vegetative growth of a plant is still possible is 2-3 thousand lux. At illumination below this threshold, the decay of assimilants into respiration will exceed their income from photosynthesis.

For the formation of generative organs, buds and flowers, the illumination must be above 4-6 thousand lux. At low light intensity, the inflorescence is laid much higher than usual (above the 10-13th leaf and above), the number of leaves between the inflorescences increases. Quite often, under such lighting, a complete reduction of the inflorescence occurs. This happens when growing seedlings on short winter days, when the illumination in the middle zone of the country is 3-7 thousand lux. Inflorescences formed under such conditions have a small number of buds and flowers, which practically do not set fruits. Seedlings can be grown at this time only with artificial illumination.

The lack of light can be felt when growing seedlings for film greenhouses and open ground in the early spring months. Tomato seedlings are elongated, forming thin stems with small light leaves, which negatively affects the formation of generative organs and early harvest. At this point, everything possible must be done to prevent the negative impact of low light on the development of plants. It is necessary to ensure the maximum use of natural light. "When growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, this is facilitated by structures with the smallest possible number of ceilings in the roof, the orientation of the structure to the south, cleaning the glass from dust, and the optimal layout of plants.

Of great importance when growing seedlings is the area of ​​plant nutrition. The dense standing and shading of the stems leads to their rapid growth in height, which negatively affects the quality of the seedlings.

The optimal illumination for a tomato is 20 thousand lux or more. But with continuous illumination, the leaf blade develops poorly, chlorotic spots appear on it, plant growth is delayed. However, this is not observed under polar day conditions, which is explained by fluctuations in illumination during the day and especially in temperature. The tomato reacts weakly to the length of the day, but is very responsive to the total energy of light. The optimal length of the day for him is 14-16 hours.

Illumination and temperature largely determine the rate at which a plant passes through all stages of development. The higher the light and temperature (up to certain limits), the shorter the period before fruit ripening. At 80-100 thousand lux, the plant begins to be oppressed, burns of leaves and fruits are possible.

Tomato prefers direct solar radiation, not diffused. In the autumn-winter period, when scattered radiation predominates, or in prolonged cloudy weather, the quality of the fruits is much worse.

The ultraviolet part of the light spectrum contributes to the accumulation of vitamin C in the plant, increases its cold resistance. This must be taken into account when hardening seedlings grown under glazed frames.

A more complete use of solar radiation can be achieved by growing new varieties and hybrids of tomato that can grow and bear fruit in extreme conditions. Recommended indoor varieties, these varieties tolerate low light much better than those grown outdoors.

Water. This is the main component of the tomato plant itself. It is included in almost all organic compounds synthesized by the leaf, dissolves and transports minerals, and helps to maintain optimal temperature conditions due to transpiration. Providing a tomato plant with water is one of the most important conditions for its normal life.

In the process of growth, the need of a plant for water is not the same. During seed germination and fruit filling, it reaches a maximum. When growing seedlings, during flowering and fruit set, soil moisture should not exceed 70--75% of the total field moisture capacity (FWC). Plants at this moment should experience a certain moisture deficit, which leads to the containment of intensive vegetative growth. At the same time, the drying of the soil, leading to shedding of flowers and even young ovaries, should not be allowed.

After fruit set on the first inflorescences, the irrigation regime of the plants is changed. It is watered more often and the soil moisture is adjusted to 75--85% of the FPV. Sharp changes in soil moisture during the period of growth and ripening of fruits are unacceptable. This causes a decrease in their average weight and may lead to cracking.

The number of irrigations depends not only on the phase of plant development, but also on solar radiation, air temperature and its movement, and agricultural technology. It is better to water tomatoes in a greenhouse and greenhouse in the morning, in sunny weather. In the open field, this can be done in the evening. Irrigation water temperature + 20--25°C. It is impossible to overmoisten the soil. This worsens its air regime and adversely affects the activity of the root system.

For a tomato plant, air humidity is of great importance, which has a tangible effect on the fertilization of a flower. Its optimal value is 60--70%. At high rates (80--90%), pollen sticks together and stops spilling out of pollen sacs. At low air humidity (50-60%), pollen that has fallen on the stigma of the pistil does not germinate.

With high humidity, there is always the possibility of fungal diseases of tomato.

Air. The gas composition of the air plays a special role in the active life of the tomato. For example, without oxygen, a plant cannot breathe. The root system is especially acute. With waterlogging of the soil, compaction, crust formation, the roots poorly absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

In the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is of great importance. Its natural content in the air (0.03%) is not enough to get high yields. Its optimal content in the air for a tomato is 0.15--0.20%. In this case, with high solar radiation and a temperature that is 2--3 ° C higher than the recommended one, the maximum productivity of photosynthesis in a plant is possible. Carbon dioxide top dressing makes it possible to increase the set of fruits and increase their size, to sharply increase the overall and especially the early productivity of the crop.

Carbon dioxide top dressing is carried out from morning to 14-16 hours of the day. It is especially needed in the winter-spring months. With an excess of CO2 in the air at night and low illumination in winter (below 2 thousand lux), necrotic spots appear on the leaves. The movement of air contributes to a better absorption of carbon dioxide by the plant.

Ammonia has a significant effect on tomatoes. When stuffing greenhouses with fresh manure, ammonia poisoning of plants is possible - damage to the lower leaves in the form of burns. In this regard, it is recommended to plant tomatoes in greenhouses a week after stuffing.

Soil and fertilizers. Tomato can be grown on various soils, but it feels best on sandy or loamy soils, which have good moisture capacity and breathability. In protected ground, you can use the same soil, filling it well with organic and mineral fertilizers.

It is best to place the tomato on the predecessors seasoned with organic fertilizers - on cabbage, cucumbers, etc.

In a greenhouse, it is most often planted after cucumbers, which leave excess nitrogen in the soil. In the early spring months, this leads to "fatting", i.e., excessive vegetative growth, which retards the generative development of plants. This is eliminated by preliminary introduction of nitrogen-binding materials (straw, sawdust) into the soil. The best soil acidity for tomato is 6.0-6.5. Acidic soils must be limed, otherwise many nutrients will be in a form that is indigestible for the plant.

Tomato is very responsive to the use of mineral and organic fertilizers. Most of all, it consumes potassium, especially during the fruiting period. Potassium is important in the first stages of plant development, especially with a lack of light, with the growth of fruits. It is necessary for the formation of stems and ovaries, active assimilation of carbon dioxide.

The plant uses nitrogen to form vegetative organs, especially during the period from germination to flowering. At this time, it is necessary to strictly control the doses of nitrogen nutrition, otherwise the plants begin to develop magnificently and the flowers from the lower inflorescences fall off.

The introduction of nitrogen is increased only after fruit set on the first inflorescences.

Of particular importance is the correct ratio between potassium and nitrogen during the entire period of growth and development of the tomato. In top dressing, it ranges from 2.5: 1 in winter and 1: 1 in summer.

Phosphorus consumption by the plant is low. It mainly goes to the growth of the root system, fruits and seeds. In spring, at low soil temperatures (15°C), its uptake by roots is sharply limited.

In addition to these elements, the tomato absorbs magnesium in a very large amount, which is especially necessary for it during the period of growth and ripening of the fruit. Plants also need various microelements, the richest source of which in an easily accessible form is manure.

The yield of tomatoes is determined by the diet. In order not to lose a significant part of the crop, it is best to apply mineral and organic fertilizers under it in advance, before tillage.

Varietiestomatoes

Depending on the nature of growth and branching of these shoots, all tomato varieties are divided into two groups:

indeterminate (with unlimited growth);

determinant (with limited growth).

The branching of shoots in both groups is sympodial, that is, after the formation of the first inflorescence above the 6-11th leaf, growth continues due to the lateral shoot, which appears from the axil of the uppermost leaf. With the growth of this shoot, the inflorescence shifts to the side, and the leaf in the axil of which it is laid is carried out above the inflorescence. After the formation of three leaves in this shoot, an inflorescence is formed and its growth stops. From the axil of the leaf located under this inflorescence, a continuation shoot again appears with three leaves, etc. Thus, the growth of the plant continues uninterruptedly (indeterminate type of growth). In practice, it is customary to call this set of shoots formed in the process of sympodial branching the main, main stem.

Tomato varieties with an indeterminate type of growth are characterized by strong vegetative growth and high remontability (constant regrowth and flowering), uniformity in yield yield and ease of plant formation into one stem. Most varieties of this group are used in protected ground.

In tomato varieties with a determinant type of growth, the main stem stops growing after the formation of three to five inflorescences. The average number of leaves in determinant tomatoes between inflorescences is always less than three - there are two of them, one. Sometimes even inflorescences follow one after another in a row.

This group of cultivars is characterized by early maturity, high yield yield, and low remontability. These varieties are best grown outdoors.

In recent years, in connection with the directional selection of tomato varieties for protected ground, new forms have appeared that have features characteristic of both determinant and indeterminate types of growth. They are characterized by long, unrestricted growth of the main stem with the inflorescence less than three leaves apart.

To facilitate the selection of varieties for certain growing conditions, all existing determinant varieties of tomato, depending on their morphological characteristics and remontance, are divided into three groups:

1 -- superdeterminant. They form only two or three inflorescences on the main stem and vegetative growth stops for a long time. All shoots quickly end their growth with inflorescences and a highly branched small bush is formed. The second, weakened, growth wave is observed after the ripening of most of the fruits. The height of the first inflorescence is the seventh or eighth leaf. Between two subsequent inflorescences on the main stem there is one leaf, less often two, and sometimes the inflorescences follow directly one after the other. The varieties of this group are the most early, and the return of the crop is very intensive. During the first 20 days of fruiting, 70--80% of all fruits ripen in them;

2 - determinant. They are characterized by limiting the growth of the main stem after the formation of four to six inflorescences, and sometimes more. The second wave of vegetative growth in them occurs much earlier than in superdeterminant tomatoes, it is more pronounced and is observed already after the formation of fruits on the first inflorescences. The height of the first inflorescence in this group of tomatoes is the eighth or ninth leaf. Subsequent inflorescences follow through one leaf, more often through two. Varieties are medium-early and early, the beginning of ripening occurs 5--7 days later than in the previous group. The harvest period is longer. For 20 days of fruiting, the yield of mature fruits is about 50% of the crop. Determinate forms make better use of the volume of the greenhouse, they are more productive than superdeterminant ones;

3 -- semi-determinant. A distinctive feature of this group of varieties is a weakened manifestation of determinance - the absence of restriction on the growth of the main shoot even after the formation of 8-10 inflorescences. Unlike determinant varieties, inflorescences are laid here on average after two or three leaves. The first inflorescence is located after the ninth-tenth leaf, which is one to three leaves higher than that of the tomatoes of the previous groups. Semi-determinant tomatoes, despite the fact that they belong to the group of varieties with a determinant type of growth, are very late ripening. In terms of the uniformity of their yield, they approach varieties with an indeterminate type of growth.

Varieties of varieties:

Nevsky 7. Bred in the North-Western Research Institute of Agriculture. The plant is standard, dwarf, slightly leafy. The leaf is dark green, strongly corrugated. The inflorescence is simple and is laid over the fifth or sixth leaf. Fruits from flat-round to round, smooth, small (40--60 g), three-, five-chambered. The variety is very early. To obtain a high yield, dense plantings are necessary (6-10 plants per 1 m2). The yield of one plant is 0.3-0.5 kg.

Alpatiev 905a. Brought to VNIISSOK. The plant is standard, upright, strongly leafy. The leaf is typical for standard forms, medium size. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid over the sixth - eighth leaf. Subsequent inflorescences develop through one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round, smooth and slightly ribbed, medium-sized (55--75 g), three-, five-chambered, has a dark green spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The average yield of a plant is 0.4-1.0 kg.

White filling 241. Bred at the vegetable experimental station TSHA. The plant is ordinary, medium-sized, medium leafy. The leaf is light green. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid over the sixth or seventh leaf, subsequent inflorescences - through one or two leaves. The fruit is round, smooth, medium in size and large (80-130 g). The color of the immature fruit is uniform, greenish-whitish. The variety is early. The average yield of one plant is 0.8-2.2 kg.

Barnaul canning. It was bred at the West Siberian vegetable-potato breeding experimental station of the Research Institute of Organic Chemistry. The plant is ordinary, undersized, slightly leafy. The leaf is light green, medium and small. The inflorescence is simple, laid over the fifth or sixth leaf, subsequent inflorescences through one leaf. The fruit is oval, smooth, small (30-50 g), two-, five-chambered. The immature fruit has a dark green spot at the stalk. Suitable for whole-fruit canning and salting. The variety is very early. To obtain a higher overall yield, dense plantings are needed - six to eight plants per 1 m2. The yield of one plant is 0.5-1.3 kg.

Svitanok. Bred at the Kyiv vegetable and potato experimental station. The plant is compact, medium leafy. The leaf is of medium size, medium frilled. Inflorescence of intermediate type, long, laid over the fifth - seventh leaf, subsequent ones - through one leaf. The fruit is flat-round, smooth, of medium size (70-90 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark green spot at the stalk. The number of chambers in the fetus b - 11. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 1.0-2.2 kg.

Talalikhin 186. Bred in the Belarusian NIIKPO. The plant is semi-spreading, medium leafy. The leaf is ordinary, medium in size. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid above the seventh or eighth leaf, the next ones - after one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round, smooth and slightly ribbed, of medium size (80-100 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark green spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 0.5-1.4 kg.

Sparkle. Bred at the Kyiv vegetable and potato experimental station. The plant is medium-branched, medium leafy. The leaf is green, ordinary, medium size. An inflorescence of an intermediate type, is laid over the fifth or sixth leaf, subsequent inflorescences - through one leaf. The fruit is elongated-oval, smooth, beautiful, weighing 80--PO g. The color is light green, uniform. The variety is early. The fruits have a good lying-bone. The average yield of one plant is 1.2-2.0 kg.

Ground Gribovsky 1180. Bred in VNIISSOK - Plants are semi-spreading, medium leafy. The sheet is medium in size, slightly corrugated. The inflorescence is simple and intermediate, short, laid above the sixth or seventh leaf, subsequent inflorescences - through one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round and round, slightly ribbed, of medium size (60--90 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 0.4-1.1 kg.

Win 165. Bred in the Belarusian NIIKPO. The plant is srednerosly, medium foliage. Leaves are dark green and medium in size. The inflorescence is simple and intermediate, lays.

Soil preparation, sowing

Site selection. Tomato grows and bears fruit on any soil, but it is better if they are lighter. The choice of a site is especially important at early terms of cultivation of a tomato. The soil should be well aerated, moisture-intensive, high in humus and nutrients, with a soil solution reaction close to neutral. On heavy clay soils, which warm up much worse, quickly swim and compact, it is difficult to get an early harvest. It is undesirable for plants and the proximity of groundwater.

In addition to the type of soil, the location of the selected site on the ground is of great importance. The tomato is thermophilic and under it in the middle lane it is best to choose areas located on the southern, southeastern or southwestern slopes. The southern slopes warm up faster by the sun, are ready for planting seedlings much earlier and are less susceptible to frost. For early production, the southern slopes are especially good, receiving more solar radiation in the spring months.

Out of the blue, sites are selected that have natural or specially created protection from the prevailing spring winds - a solid high fence, backstage. Tomato is best grown after cabbage, onion, cucumber, zucchini, i.e. those vegetable crops under which fresh manure is brought. It is not recommended to grow it for tomatoes, potatoes, peppers either immediately or after 2-3 years. The proximity to the area where potatoes are grown is also undesirable, since the diseases and pests of these crops are basically the same.

Site preparation. They begin to prepare a plot for a tomato in the fall, removing and destroying the crop residues of the previous crop. Under the autumn deep digging of the soil, organic fertilizers (rotted manure, humus) are applied at the rate of 4–5 kg per 1 m2. In autumn, mineral fertilizers can also be applied - superphosphate (60-80 g / m2) and potassium sulfate (20-25 g / m2). It is desirable that they fall into the upper (10-12 cm) soil layer. With such incorporation, the efficiency of their absorption by the root system is maximum, and the degree of leaching into the lower soil layers after rain or irrigation is much reduced. However, spring application of mineral fertilizers gives better results. When growing tomatoes early, it is especially effective to apply superphosphate directly to the well - 15 g per well. This ensures good fruit set and growth on the first inflorescences. Nitrogen fertilizers are best applied later, with fertilizing during. fruit growth time. Even a small excess of nitrogen in the early stages of growth delays the development of the plant and the formation of an early harvest. Therefore, fresh manure directly under the tomato is not recommended.

If it is not possible to choose a site that meets its requirements for soils and lighting conditions for a tomato, they try to properly prepare the existing one for it.

On heavy, clay soils, large doses of organic fertilizers are applied. This not only contributes to a better supply of plants with various mineral nutrients, but also significantly improves the physical and mechanical properties of the soil. The improvement of the thermal and water-air regimes of such soil is facilitated by the making of ridges. They are oriented in length from east to west. It is best to make ridges that are triangular in cross section (Fig. 6). Their gentle slope is directed to the south, and short and high - to the north. The southern slope of the ridge, where the plants will be located, better captures the sun's rays and has the temperature of the soil and the adjacent air layer + 1.5--2.5 ° C higher than with the usual layout of the site. On such beds, the fruits ripen 5-8 days earlier than on a flat area.

On the same ridges, it is possible to grow tomatoes in reclaimed swamp areas. On sandy and sandy loamy soils, tomatoes are not cultivated on the ridges.

Boarding times. The optimal time for planting seedlings in open ground in the middle lane is the first decade of June. This is due to the fact that, for example, in the Moscow region, the date of the last spring frost falls on June 12. And although the average daily air temperature is above 10 ° C already on May 9, and frosts end on average on May 12, planting a tomato in open ground during these periods is very risky. Late spring frosts (end of May) occur 2-3 times in 10 years.

To obtain an early harvest, it is advisable to plant tomato seedlings a little earlier than the recommended dates, that is, May 20-25. The soil by this time is already warming up to a temperature above 10--12 ° C, and the root system of plants is already able to absorb water and minerals.

The risk associated with earlier planting of tomatoes, insured by strict adherence to agricultural technology and preparation to combat possible frosts, is fully justified by the arrival of ripe fruits already at the end of July.

Seedlings planted early take root better, get sick less and give an early harvest 30–40% more than those planted in early June.

Landing plans. The choice of planting scheme, or determining the area of ​​plant nutrition, depends on a number of factors. The most significant of them is the varietal characteristics of the plant. Even from the group of superdeterminant and determinant varieties of tomato recommended for open ground, one can single out weaker and more compact ones. So, if the varieties Nevsky 7, Barnaul canning can be planted at the rate of six to eight plants per 1 m2, then Peremoga 165, Gruntovy Gribovsky 1180 - no more than four plants.

Partial or complete removal of continuation shoots (stepchildren) has a great influence on the change in the area of ​​​​nutrition of a tomato plant. So, when pinching into one stem, leaving two to four inflorescences, the growth of the plant root is sharply reduced. Consequently, on the same area it will be possible to place plants 15--20% more than without pinching. The layout of plants in this case changes by reducing the distance between them in a row.

The planting scheme is also affected by whether it is planned to tie the plants to any support. All this must be taken into account not only when placing them on the site, but also a little earlier, when determining the number of seedlings grown.

Plants are arranged in rows on the plot. For standard and low-growing varieties, the following planting pattern is recommended: 60 cm between rows and 25-30 cm between plants in a row; for medium-sized varieties - 70 cm between rows and 30-35 cm between plants in a row. If the planting scheme is chosen correctly, the plants of this variety by the time of fruiting fully occupy the space that is allocated to them.

Rows of tomato on a flat area, unlike ridges, can be placed from south to north, which creates better conditions for uniform illumination of plants.

A tape planting of a tomato is also possible, especially when using ridges or various methods of tying a plant. Usually the tape consists of two rows with a distance between them of 50-60 cm. One tape is 90-100 cm away from the other. The distance between plants depends on the variety and type of crop and ranges from 25 to 35 cm.

Preparing seedlings for planting. Early planting of a tomato is possible if the seedlings are properly grown and hardened. Pampered seedlings are unable to ensure the formation of an early harvest in conditions of sharp changes in day and night temperatures and high solar radiation.

Before planting, in order to prevent fungal diseases, seedlings are treated with copper-containing preparations - Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride. Usually, the night before planting, seedlings not grown in pots are well watered to select them with a large clod of soil at the roots. The less seedlings lose roots during transplantation, the higher its survival rate and the more active the initial growth, the earlier the plant begins to bear fruit. Seedlings grown in pots can not be heavily watered, since their root system is almost not disturbed during sampling. Underdeveloped and diseased plants are discarded.

Landing. Seedlings are planted in holes that are prepared in advance according to the chosen planting pattern. Fertilizers are applied to them before planting (15 g of superphosphate and one or two handfuls of humus), which are mixed with soil and watered well with water (1.0-1.5 liters per well). Properly grown seedlings are planted vertically, deepening into the soil just above the cotyledons. The soil around the roots is slightly compacted. Excessive deepening of plants only worsens their survival, because the deeper layers of the soil during the planting period have not yet warmed up enough.

Overgrown and elongated seedlings are planted obliquely, with the tip to the south. The roots and the lower part of the stem with three or four leaves removed are laid lying down in prepared holes, and if the seedlings are very long, then in furrows 12-15 cm deep and sprinkled with soil. In moist and well-warmed soil, after 7-10 days, that part of the stem that was sprinkled with earth forms adventitious roots, which contributes to enhanced soil nutrition of the plant.

Seedlings are best planted on cloudy days or in the evening. At the same time, plants get sick less, take root well and quickly start growing. The soil around them after planting is left dry.

If it is decided in the future to tie the plants to stakes, on the eve of planting, they must be driven in from the north side of the hole. A stake about 150 cm long, 4-5 cm in diameter is driven into the soil to a depth of 40-50 cm so that after planting the plant is at a distance of 8-10 cm

culture care

Tomato care includes the following types of work:

1) Weed control is inter-row cultivation and weeding in rows.

2) Hilling, which is carried out several times

3) Stepping, i.e. removal of shoots when they reach no more than 5 m.

4) Pinching the main stem to the point of growth to limit growth.

5) Watering and fertilizing with solutions of mineral and organic fertilizers. Watering is carried out as needed, and top dressing before each hilling.

6) Fight against diseases and pests. Against phytophthora, a 1% solution of Bardock liquid is used, and against leaf spot, a 0.4-0.75% solution is valuable.

Watering and loosening the soil. Tomato plants for the first 2-3 weeks I after planting, especially in the early stages, are not recommended to be watered. The water poured into the hole when planting seedlings is enough for them to take root and grow.

In the first half of the growing season, before fruit set on the first inflorescences, watering is carried out to a limited extent, but they try to prevent the soil from drying out too much.

Water plants under the root. When watering by sprinkling, the air and soil temperature sharply decreases, which negatively affects flowering, the shedding of flowers increases, fruit set and ripening are delayed. At the same time, air humidity increases, which leads to the emergence and spread of fungal diseases. During the growth of fruits, the need for a tomato plant in water increases dramatically. Watering should be done more often and regularly. A drop in soil moisture at this point causes stunting of green fruits, cracking of ripe ones and, in combination with other factors, leads to the spread of blossom end rot.

After each watering, the soil is loosened, destroying weeds. The first loosening is carried out to a depth of 8-12 cm, the subsequent ones are somewhat smaller (4-5 cm). Deep first loosening creates favorable conditions in the upper soil layer for its warming up, which is very important for plants at the beginning of the growing season. The soil should not swim and compact, otherwise the activity of the root system will deteriorate sharply. During the cultivation of a tomato, it is loosened 3-5 times.

Over time, the lower leaves of a tomato plant, most often in contact with the soil, grow old and begin to die off. To prevent the appearance and spread of various fungal diseases on the site, they are periodically removed.

Top dressing. Mineral fertilizers are best given to plants in liquid form after watering. The first feeding is carried out two to three weeks after planting the plants in the soil, during the formation of ovaries on the first inflorescence. It mainly consists of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (20-25 g of superphosphate and 15-20 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m2). Nitrogen fertilizers should not be given at this time, but if the soils are very poor and this negatively affects plant growth, it can be applied with top dressing up to 10 g per 1 m2 of ammonium nitrate.

The second, and sometimes the third top dressing is carried out with mass growth and ripening of fruits. Here it is already necessary to add 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate and 20-25 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m2, which contributes to a more intensive filling of fruits.

Very good results, especially for obtaining an early harvest, give foliar top dressing, which serves as an addition to the usual plant nutrition, but does not replace it. To do this, use well-soluble fertilizers (g per 10 liters of water): urea - 16, superphosphate - 10, potassium chloride - 16. Superphosphate is not completely soluble in water, so an aqueous extract is prepared from it: a day before it is soaked (1: 10) and periodically mixed. Before spraying the plants, the water extract must be filtered through several layers of gauze. When foliar top dressing, microelements are also used together with fertilizers.

Such top dressing is often carried out in conjunction with the treatment of plants against diseases or pests. This is best done in the evening, when the nutrient solution applied to the leaves dries slowly, and the morning dew contributes to its better absorption.

To prevent the spread of fungal diseases, periodically, 2-3 times per season, especially after rains, in the second half of July, plants are treated with copper-containing preparations - Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride.

Mulching. Mulching contributes to the reduction of inter-row cultivation, as well as the creation of a better water-air and temperature regime in the soil. This technique is especially effective for obtaining an early harvest on heavy soils, which warm up later in the spring, and lose a lot of moisture due to the formation of a crust in the summer. Mulching in such areas is best done with a special black plastic wrap or old used one.

Other materials are also suitable for it - peat, straw, rotted manure, sawdust. But they do not accumulate heat so much and the temperature of the soil under them rises slowly. They can be applied when the soil has warmed up well, but has not yet had time to compact.

Pinching and pinching plants. After planting in open ground, various methods of plant formation are used to obtain an earlier tomato crop. The purpose of these operations is to redistribute the consumption of plastic substances of the plant in the direction of rapid growth and development of fruits on a certain number of inflorescences.

When growing a tomato without pinching, the yield and its supply mainly depend on the varietal characteristics of the crop and external conditions. In a tomato, from each leaf axil, that is, from where the leaf departs from the stem, after the formation of one or two inflorescences, there is a rapid growth of continuation shoots - stepchildren. Each of them gives rise to a separate stem. Depending on the degree of determinancy, two or three inflorescences or more are formed on each stem, after which growth stops. In indeterminate varieties, the growth of stepchildren is unlimited. In turn, from the axils of the leaves of the stepchildren, the growth of continuation shoots is also possible, etc.

The rapid growth of the plant and its branching begin to decline only when the fruits appear on the first inflorescences. But their growth and filling is slow, because the plant simultaneously blooms and sets fruits on more than 15-20 inflorescences. A large crop is formed, but its receipt in time is significantly delayed.

Therefore, without pinching in open ground in the middle lane, it is possible to grow tomato varieties such as Nevsky 7, Barnaul canning, Bely filling 241, which usually have time to form and give up most of the crop. The proportion of ripe fruits in this case largely depends on weather conditions. The higher the temperature and the more sunny days, the more ripe fruits. But the plants of these varieties, grown without pinching, even in the best years give quite a lot of small and non-marketable fruits.

In the middle lane, usually those fruits that set up before August 1 manage to grow and ripen on the plant. The growth and development of shoots and inflorescences, which continue after August 1, is not only the loss of plastic substances by the plant, but also a significant delay in the arrival of an already formed crop. To prevent this, in late July - early August, a one-time removal of all small stepchildren from the plant is carried out with simultaneous pinching on the remaining shoots. growth points. Two or three leaves or more must be left above the inflorescences with already set fruits, and only then the shoot growth point is removed. The growth and development of fruits on the inflorescence of a tomato occurs due to two or three leaves located next to it. Inflorescences that have just formed or have begun to bloom are also removed, but the large shoots on which they were located are left. Such a one-time stepping by the end of the growing season allows the plant to more purposefully use the available reserves for the growth and ripening of already existing fruits. Compared to non-stemmed plants, the fruits are larger and of better quality.

Wanting to get a very early harvest, pinching is carried out regularly once every 7-10 days. Plants, depending on the variety, can be formed into one or more stems. All other shoots growing from the axils of the leaves, both on the main and on other stems, are removed. Tomato varieties Bely filling 241, Moskvich, Barnaul canning, Svitanok, etc., recommended for open ground in the middle zone of the country, are grown in one, two or three stems (Fig. 8). The second stem is formed from the stepson growing in the axil of the leaf located under the first inflorescence, the third stem is formed from the axils of the second leaf under the first brush.

On each stem of these varieties, due to the natural growth restriction, an average of three inflorescences is laid. When plants are formed into three stems, the development of inflorescences everywhere occurs almost simultaneously, with only some delay on the lower ones. The return of the crop with this method of plant formation occurs somewhat later than with a single-stem culture.

For a very early harvest of mature fruits, superdeterminant plants are left with one or two stems. But even in this case, in the open field, the fruits usually ripen only on the first three to five inflorescences. Therefore, when forming in three stems, part of the crop may consist of still green fruits.

In determinant varieties of tomato (Gruntovy Gribovsky 1180, Peremoga 165, Siberian early ripening 1450, etc.) due to stronger growth than the previous group of varieties, more inflorescences on the stem (five to six) and leaves between inflorescences (one or two) plants in the open field form a little differently.

To obtain a very early harvest, one stem is isolated, leaving two or three inflorescences. After the last inflorescence, one or two leaves are left and the growth point is removed. It is possible to grow determinant varieties of tomato in one stem without pinching the growing point , but then there will be at least five or six inflorescences, on which the fruits will not always have time to ripen. Forming plants of these varieties in two stems , they leave only four - eight inflorescences and be sure to pinch the point of growth. In three stems, determinant varieties are practically not grown.

Stepchildren are removed small (3-5 cm), not allowing them to outgrow. When a large stepchild is removed, a significant wound remains on the stem and the plant unproductively spends its plastic substances on its overgrowth.

After pinching the growth point, when forming the plant into one or two stems, stepchildren should be regularly removed. This will speed up the growth and ripening of fruits. When plants are formed in one or two stems, leaving two to four inflorescences, the production arrives at the end of July, which is 15-25 days earlier than without planting. The total yield per unit area, if the planting pattern is left unchanged, when plants are formed into one stem, can even be lower than with the usual method of cultivation. But in this case, the single-stem tomato form, on average, produces twice as many ripe fruits as the bush one.

For a more complete use of the area of ​​​​the site and an increase not only in the early, but also in the total yield, when grown in one stem of plants on the same plot, they plant 15--20% more. For example, if plants without pinching are placed in a row every 35 cm, then when they are formed into one stem, this distance can be significantly reduced to 20-30 cm.

Creating optimal lighting conditions, facilitating the formation of plants and caring for them helps them garter 3-4 times per season to various supports, most often stakes. Make sure that the twine is not pulled too tight on the plant and does not damage it. Plants can be tied to a wire trellis stretched between 4-5 m and reinforced supports.

Diseases and pests

whitefly- small (1.5 mm) insect with a yellowish body and two pairs of mealy-white wings. Harm larvae, nymphs and adults, sucking juice from plants. On the sticky sugary secretions of the whitefly, sooty fungi often settle, covering the surface of the leaves with a black coating. Females lay eggs in groups, often in the form of a ring of 10-20 pieces on the underside of the leaves, mostly the youngest ones. The female is able to lay up to 130 eggs. Larvae are pale green with red eyes, flat, elongated oval, covered with spines. After 2 molts, they turn into nymphs, from which adult insects fly out after 15 days. In greenhouses, the pest gives 10-14 generations.

Control measures: three times spraying with a suspension of verticillium (during the seedling period, in the phase of 6-8 leaves and after another 10 days), the consumption of the suspension is 1 liter per 10 sq.m. at the beginning, middle and end of the growing season, treatment with carbos, 10% c.e (60).

Colorado beetle. The beetle is egg-shaped, convex from above, yellowish-brown in color with 10 black stripes on the elytra and with black spots on the pronotum, 16-18 mm long. The hindwings are pinkish-red. The eggs are orange, oblong, 0.8-1.5 mm long. Larvae are orange-red or yellow in color, with a strongly thickened abdomen on the sides with black spots and a black head, up to 15-16 mm long. Beetles overwinter in the soil. Eggs are laid in clusters on the underside of leaves. After 7-10 days, larvae appear that feed on plants from 20 to 40 days.

Control measures: regular collection of beetles and larvae. With mass abundance - treatment with 80% s.p. (6g) dibrom, 10% s.e. (140g), phoxim (150g), mesox, 25% s.e. (60g), subject to the technique security.

Medvedka an adult insect 35-50 mm long, brown in color with shortened elytra, from under which the lower wings protrude, folded in the form of flagella. The forelegs have widened flat tibiae with teeth adapted for digging the soil. Eggs are round oval, up to 2.5 mm long. The larvae are similar in body shape to adult insects. Medvedka breeds in greenhouses. Warm manure and regular watering of plants attract her. Prefers areas where manure and humus are scattered.

Control measures: autumn plowing and row-spacing processing; screening the soil and viewing manure in the preparation of protected ground. The use of poisoned baits from bran or corn soaked in a solution of 80% chlorophos (50 g per 1 kg of bait) is applied to a depth of 2-3 cm 7-10 days before sowing.

Late blight - one of the most common and harmful fungal diseases of tomatoes. It affects fruits, leaves and stems. A characteristic sign of fruit disease is the formation of a hard, blurry dark brown spot that spreads deep into the fruit and on their surface. severely affected fruits have a bumpy surface affected tissues on the leaves first lighten and wilt, then a dark brown spot appears in wet weather on the underside of the leaves a white coating forms on the stems the disease manifests itself in the form of solid dark brown spots.

Control measures: spatial isolation of tomatoes; the use of high doses of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, the cultivation of early ripe resistant varieties

black bacterial spot. The most dangerous in years with hot and humid summers on the leaves appear small watery spots 1-2 mm in diameter, rounded or irregular in shape, in the center their tissue is almost black, around it is yellow. Sometimes the disease manifests itself in the form of black stripes. Spots merge on petioles and stems. Leaves turn yellow and die. The fruits are covered with dark convex dots surrounded by a watery border.

Control measures: use for sowing seeds collected from healthy plants. Top dressing with microelements: boron, copper, manganese.

Mosaic: appears as an alternation on the leaves of light green, yellow areas with dark green. The leaves become wrinkled threadlike. The development of plants is suspended, the fruits remain underdeveloped, and internal necrosis occurs in them.

Control measures: heating the seeds for 2 days at a temperature of 50-52, and then at a temperature of 80.

Aphids. Very dangerous pests of vegetable crops. Up to 30 species of aphids are found in greenhouses, among which the most common are gourd, green peach, large potato and common, etc. Aphids penetrate greenhouses from weeds growing in areas adjacent to greenhouses, or are brought in with affected planting material. In protected ground conditions, aphids give several generations during the growing season. In the farms of the Leningrad region and the Non-Chernozem region, aphids more often damage tomatoes in the autumn-winter turnover and when forcing seedlings in January-February, as well as when planting plants in a permanent place.

Control measures. Destruction in greenhouses and greenhouses, as well as around them weeds. Do not keep ornamental plants in greenhouses. A set of preventive measures can delay the appearance of aphids to May and later.

Spraying with karbofos, 50% c.e. actellika (3 - 6 l / ha). Treatments with actellik are stopped 3 days before, and karbofos - 2 days before the elimination of plants. For eradicating spraying use 40% k. e. phosphamide (BI-58) - treating plants with it 5 days before their elimination. Plant infectious residues on the wire are destroyed by firing.

During the growing season, they are treated with 0.12% karbofos, 0.1% actellik.

Common spider mite. One of the most dangerous pests of vegetable crops in greenhouses. Distributed everywhere. It has been noted on more than 100 plant species. Symptoms of leaf damage appear as light, later turning brown and drying spots, densely covering the leaves, which die prematurely. In the process of its development, the tick goes through the phases of egg, larva, nymph, adult male and female. In the greenhouses of the Non-Chernozem region, overwintered females appear on young plants by the time they are planted in a permanent place (January - February). Under favorable conditions, they lay 40-60 eggs on the underside of the leaves. Larvae hatch after 3-6 days, the development of one generation takes 10-18 days. Females give up to 4-5 generations even under short day conditions. Usually in the Non-Chernozem zone, 8-12 generations develop during the growing season. The most intensive reproduction of the spider mite occurs in May - June and July.

With a decrease in the length of daylight hours to 14-16 hours, ticks acquire a reddish color, which indicates their imminent departure for wintering. Wintering females appear in August. Sometimes in summer the population density drops, which, apparently, occurs in connection with the appearance of summer diapause in mites. Adult fertilized females overwinter on plant debris, under lumps of soil; in spring they lay eggs. The tick is carried on human clothing, with containers, agricultural implements.

Control measures. Steaming the soil to destroy the wintering stage. Combining and changing preparations for treatments in order to avoid getting used to them by the tick. Spraying seedlings 4-5 days before planting in a permanent place with 40% phosphamide (0.8-1.5 l/ha). After tomato garter, treatment with one of the preparations: 30% or 50% akrex, 20% keltan (chloroethanol), 50% karbofos. Treatment with colloidal gray (2 - 20 kg/ha) or ground (20 - 30 kg/ha). Stop using Acrex or Actellik 20 days before picking the fruit; karbofos, kel tana - for 3 - 4 days (processing is carried out no more than 2 times per season); sulfur - for 1 day. In the fight against ticks, the biological method of fighting with the help of phytoseilus, gall midge, lacewing, encarsia (according to special recommendations) is widely used.

Nightshade miner fly. During the growing season in the greenhouse gives up to 5-7 generations. The flight of the fly in the greenhouses of the Non-Chernozem zone occurs in late February - early March. Insects lay their eggs in the tissue of young leaves from the upper side. The hatching larvae make winding, ribbon-like whitish passages in the tissues, in which their dark excrement accumulates. Affected leaves die off. The mining fly has acquired especially high harmfulness in recent years on tomato in winter and film greenhouses.

Control measures. Eradication spraying; || during the seedling period and during the growing season, treatment with 50% actellik (3 - 6 l / ha). Mandatory isolation of greenhouses from planting potatoes, which is also affected by the nightshade mining fly and can serve as a breeding ground for the pest.

Cleaning

Tomato crops are harvested by hand, mostly selectively every 3-5 days. Depending on the purpose of the crop, fruits are harvested in various degrees of ripeness, which are:

1. Full ripeness: tomatoes are processed or sold locally.

2. Blange ripeness (brown): tomatoes are harvested for transportation over a long distance.

3. Pink ripeness: carry out transportation and sale.

4. Green ripeness: the fruits are harvested before ripening (ripening), which is carried out in dry, ventilated and warm rooms at a temperature of 20-25 and a relative humidity of 70-80%. during ripening, fruits suitable for use are selected every 2-3 days and spoiled ones are removed. Faster ripening of fruits takes place in special chambers using acetylene, propylene, ethylene. Ripening of blanzhe fruits lasts 2-4 days, and green 5-6 days.

Storage conditions

Mature fruits, best of all small-chambered, small, are placed in one or two layers on racks, boxes in such a way that they do not damage one another with a stalk. They can be stored in dark, occasionally ventilated areas (ventilation is necessary, since the fruits consume oxygen for their breathing). The optimum storage temperature for ripe fruits is +4--6°C, relative air humidity is 80--90%. The latter condition allows you to reduce the evaporation of water by fruits to a minimum and protect them from drying out.

In this mode, the fruits are stored for 15-30 days. At lower temperatures (-(-1--3°C), the storage time can be extended to 40--50 days, but the quality of the fruits is sharply reduced, they become watery and tasteless. The shelf life of green fruits (reached biological maturity) can be extended up to 50 - 60 days. Their storage temperature is above + 8 - 10 ° C. If it is lowered below + 4 - 6 ° C, then even when optimal conditions are created, the green fruits will no longer turn red.

Better and longer (2-3 months) are stored fruits sprinkled with sawdust or high-moor peat. During storage, they are periodically sorted out, removing ripe and diseased ones.

You can also store fruits together with plants, hanging them in a room where the temperature is maintained within + 12-- 14 ° C. In this case, the mass of fruits may even increase due to the outflow of nutrients from the stems and leaves.

Literature

1. Gavrish S.F. Tomatoes. 1987

2. Goranko I.B. Growing tomatoes in the protected ground of the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia. 1985

Tomato is an annual plant of the Solanaceae family. In the year of sowing, it forms fruits and seeds.

The tomato has a highly developed root system of the rod type. The roots are branched, grow and form quickly. They go into the ground to a great depth (with a seedless culture of up to 1 m or more), spreading in diameter by 1.5-2.5 m. But, the bulk of the roots are located in the soil at a depth of 30-50 cm. In the presence of moisture and nutrition additional roots can form on any part of the stem, so the tomato can be propagated not only by seeds, but also by cuttings and side shoots (stepchildren). Put in water, they form roots in a few days.

The stem of the tomato is erect or decumbent, branching, from 30 cm to 2 m or more in height.

The leaves are pinnate, dissected into large lobes, sometimes of the potato type. On the surface of the stem and leaves are glandular hairs that emit a specific strong "tomato" smell. The leaves are pinnately dissected, consisting of lobes and lobules. The length of the leaves is from 15 - 20 to 30 - 40 cm or more.

The flowers are small, inconspicuous, yellow in various shades, collected in a brush. Tomato is a facultative self-pollinator: in one flower there are male and female organs. Corolla 1.5-2 cm in diameter. Anthers fused into a tubule, opening with longitudinal slits. The pestle is inside the tube. The stigma of the pistil rarely protrudes.

The fruits are juicy multi-celled berries of various shapes (from flat-round to cylindrical; they can be small (weight up to 50 g), medium (51-100 g) and large (over 100 g, sometimes up to 800 g or more). Color - red , dark red, pink, orange, yellow - due to the pigments lycopene (red) and carotene (yellow).The fruit is divided into nests, the number of which can be from 2 to 12. The fruits contain 5 - 6% of dry matter,

1.8 - 4.1 % sugars, organic acids. The tomato is an optional self-pollinator.

The seeds are small (about 300-350 pieces per 1 g), flat, pointed at the base, light or dark yellow, usually pubescent, as a result of which they have a gray tint. Physiologically mature they become already in green, formed fruits. Depending on the variety, from 25-30 to 300-350 seeds are formed in one fruit. Fruits of large-fruited varieties usually contain fewer seeds than fruits of small-fruited varieties. Seed germination lasts for 4-5 years, but there are varieties with germination up to 8 years.

Seeds begin to germinate at 10-12°C, the optimum temperature is 26-29°C, growth stops when it drops to 12-14°C, the critical temperature limit is 35°C heat, although growth processes slow down already at 30°C.

Under favorable temperature conditions and the presence of moisture, the seeds germinate in 3-4 days. The first true leaf usually appears 6-10 days after germination, the next 3-4 leaves - after another 5-6 days, then each new leaf is formed after 3-5 days. Starting from a young age, lateral shoots (stepchildren) grow in the axils of the leaves. The duration of the period from germination to flowering of the plant is 50-70 days, from flowering to fruit ripening 45-60 days.

According to the structure of the bush, the thickness of the stem and the nature of the leaves, 3 varieties of tomatoes are distinguished: non-standard, standard, potato.

In the axils of the leaves, lateral branches (stepchildren) are formed. Stepchildren appear earlier and develop most strongly, located directly under the inflorescences.

Humidity

Tomato is a medium moisture demanding and relatively drought-resistant crop. However, it requires high soil moisture (approximately 70...80%), but at the same time relatively low air humidity of about 60%.

During the fruiting period, air humidity is needed in the range of 65 ... 70%. Changes in soil moisture impair the growth of the root system, the supply of nutrients to the plant, and lead to disease. Uneven moisture supply leads to cracking of fruits and falling of flowers.

Particular care must be taken to provide plants with air. With a lack of air in the soil, the seeds germinate slowly, the roots stop growing, and the normal nutrition process is disrupted. Such a requirement obliges the vegetable grower to use soil with a good cloddy structure for growing tomatoes (especially seedlings).

With insufficient moisture, there is an accelerated ripening of the set fruits with a massive fall of new flowers and ovaries. The plant, when stressed, strives to reproduce seeds while getting rid of the reproductive parts that compete in the consumption of nutrients.

An excess of moisture negatively affects pollination, since this is a self-pollinating type of crop. You can pollinate flowers by tapping on the stem, shaking the flower brushes. Tomatoes are a self-pollinating crop, so the air in the greenhouse must be dry. The quality of pollen will deteriorate significantly if the temperature is less than +13 or above +32 degrees. You can pollinate flowers by tapping on the stem, shaking the flower brushes. After planting in the ground, seedlings do not need to be watered for a week, as they can stretch out. In the future, before the formation of fruits, tomatoes should be watered abundantly and more often. After the fruits are tied, you need to water 2-3 times a week, but not so plentifully. It is better to water the tomatoes in the morning, always under the root, trying not to get on the plants themselves.

It is advisable to use water for irrigation that has settled and warmed up to a temperature of +18 +20 degrees. It is better not to use tap water - it is chlorinated and usually cold, which will only harm the tomatoes.

Long breaks in watering should not be allowed - this will lead to cracking of the fruit. After watering, the greenhouse must be ventilated to avoid condensation. Drops can get on plants, which contributes to the appearance of late blight and other diseases. The next day, after watering, loosening should be carried out.

Light

Tomato is a demanding crop for light. The brighter and more intense the light, the faster the crop is formed. With a lack of lighting, the process of assimilation is sharply reduced, plant growth is weakened, and development is delayed. Long cloudy weather lengthens the period from flowering to fruit ripening by 10-15 days, worsens their taste and marketability. Most varieties of southern origin are short-day plants, while those of northern origin are day-neutral or long-day plants.

Temperature and humidity are regulated by means of air vents. It is necessary to ventilate not only in sunny weather, but also in cloudy weather, too, in order to avoid excessive humidity and condensation on the glass or film of the greenhouse. Too high temperatures and poor ventilation, together with insufficient watering, will cause the flowers and fruits to drop. To get a high yield, it is necessary to provide tomatoes with good lighting. There should be no bushes or trees around the greenhouse. Since tomatoes are a light-loving crop, when the greenhouse is darkened, the yield drops sharply. In a well-developed tomato plant, the leaves curl slightly during the day, and straighten out at night, the flowers are bright yellow, large, and do not fall off. On such plants, the harvest will be good.

Soil and fertilizer

Tomatoes planted in a greenhouse need constant top dressing, which should be done every 10 to 12 days. The first feeding is carried out 8-10 days after planting. If the plants have boggy stems and pale green leaves, then it is worth feeding with a solution of mullein, take 5-6 buckets of water for 1 bucket of slurry. You can add 20 grams of superphosphate and 30 grams of wood ash there. Solution consumption - 0.5 liters per 1 plant.

If tomato seedlings are well developed, then organic fertilizers should not be applied, they will cause increased growth of shoots and leaves. Organic fertilizers begin to be applied only when the tomato plants begin to bear fruit.

Fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers should be alternated. To obtain a solution of mineral fertilizers for 10 liters of water, take 25 grams of nitrogen, 40 grams of phosphorus and 15 grams of potash fertilizers. Consumption - 1 liter per plant. This solution is suitable for top dressing during the flowering period. During the fruiting period, it is better to use the following composition: pour 2 liters of ash with hot water, insist, dilute to 10 liters, add 1 bottle of iodine and 15 grams of boric acid there. Leave the mixture for a day. Add a liter of solution to 1 bucket of water and water 1 liter under the plant. Tomatoes after such top dressing begin to bear fruit faster, since the solution is rich in trace elements.

By the appearance of tomatoes, you can determine which minerals it lacks.

A) nitrogen

Many soils have a significant potential supply of nitrogen. But in most cases, it is not available to plants, especially with low fertility. Therefore, it is necessary to replenish it and add some more in the form of mineral and organic fertilizers to obtain the planned harvest.

In the main types of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, the most nitrogen is contained in urea - 46%, in ammonium nitrate - up to 35%. In potassium nitrate - its share is 13.8% and, in addition, there is 44% potassium. During the period of plant growth, increased doses of nitrates are harmful, especially when they are added to the top layer immediately before sowing. The ammonium sulfate produced by the industry in small quantities is safer.

If there is a lack of nitrogen, then the leaves become small, the veins have a reddish-blue tint. The fruits are woody, small.

B) potassium

The content of potassium in some soils is quite high. When applied in the form of mineral fertilizers, it can accumulate for a long time without being washed out into the deep layers and into drainage waters. The soil is enriched with potassium when large doses of manure are applied. Among potash fertilizers, the most widely used in our country are potassium chloride and potassium salt. But chlorine also greatly impairs the taste of vegetables and some other crops. The best potash fertilizer is potassium sulfate, which contains 40-42% potassium (or 48-50% potassium oxide). Another effective fertilizer is potassium nitrate. It contains 36% potassium, and also about 13% nitrogen. There is no chlorine in it. Potassium is present in a small amount in dolomite flour - an average of 3%, wood ash - from 2 to 5%.

In the absence or small amount of potassium, leaf curl is present, marginal burns on old leaves.

B) phosphorus

Plants consume phosphorus in smaller quantities than nitrogen and potassium. It is absorbed mainly in the form of orthophosphate. When applied to the soil, it quickly turns into compounds that are difficult for plants to access and is practically not washed out. A gradual increase in reserves in the arable layer improves the phosphorus nutrition of vegetable crops. The main and most common type of phosphate fertilizers is simple superphosphate, which contains 8-9.5% phosphorus (or 18-22% phosphoric acid), is highly soluble in water and is easily accessible to the root system of plants. More valuable fertilizer - double superphosphate, and which is approximately twice as much phosphorus - about 20%. It is also easily soluble in water. Double superphosphate differs from simple superphosphate in its low content of calcium sulfate.

From other types of phosphate fertilizers, the industry produces phosphorus flour. Phosphorus and neem are present in small quantities and in a hard-to-reach form. This fertilizer is more effective on soils with high acidity, the action of superphosphate appears slowly.

Phosphorus together with potassium contribute to the acceleration of flowering, fruit ripening and increase the resistance of the plant to diseases.

With a lack of phosphorus, leaf lobes turn inward.

D) magnesium

Vegetable crops require less magnesium, but this is also a vital nutrient involved in many physiological processes, its greatest deficiency is observed in sandy and sandy loamy soils. In heavy and loamy it contains more, and they rarely have to make up for the lack of this element.

Sandy soils have small reserves of magnesium-containing minerals, and its release is very slow here. Partially, it enters the soil with precipitation.

The lack of magnesium, especially on sandy and sandy loamy soils, is often not taken into account, and thus the deterioration of fertility and a significant decrease in yield are allowed. In the presence of exchangeable magnesium in quantities of more than 30 kg per 1 kg of soil, plants do not experience a lack of it, but with an even higher content, the need for it is better satisfied, especially in greenhouse conditions.

The main source of magnesium settlement in the soil is manure, with regular application of which this element is maintained at an optimal level. With an increase in yield, the removal increases significantly and, therefore, further improvement of magnesium nutrition is required. The best mineral fertilizer in the form of potassium sulfate is 6.5%, dolomite flour - up to 12% and in dolomite slag - from 1 to 6%.

D) trace elements

Tomatoes need to be provided with boron, manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum. The available reserves of their soil do not always satisfy the needs of plants. The removal of trace elements with increasing yields is constantly increasing. Therefore, micronutrients need to be supplemented. The main source of trace elements is commonly used fertilizers, 1 ton of manure contains approximately 3.36 kg of manganese, 1.12 kg of zinc, 0.56 kg of copper and 0.11 kg of boron and molybdenum each. There are few of them in mineral fertilizers - about 10 mg per 1 kg.

The amount of trace elements in manure depends on their content in animal feed, and in mineral fertilizers - on the minerals used for processing. The use of certain minerals impairs the absorption of trace elements by plant roots. For example, excessive liming increases the lack of boron and copper. But even very high doses of trace elements can be toxic and even fatal to the plant.

The lack of trace elements can be easily eliminated by spraying plants with solutions with a low concentration of the necessary substances. When applied to the soil, fertilizers are evenly distributed over the entire surface. To obtain high yields of vegetable crops, the approximate norms of trace elements are as follows: borax or boric acid - 20 kg, crystalline copper sulfate - 20 kg, manganese sulfate - 40-60 kg or more, sodium molybdenum - 20 kg per 1 ha.

The most noticeable lack of calcium on young shoots, they become light yellow, and the old ones, on the contrary, are dark green and greatly increase in size. This is how top rot starts.

With sulfur starvation, the leaves become light green, then yellow with a reddish tint. With a lack of sulfur, young shoots begin to be damaged, the stems become brittle, thin, and hard.

The stems begin to turn black, and new leaves grow in the lower part - this is a sign of a lack of boron. The fruits are covered with brown spots of dead tissue.

If there is a lack of iron, then the growth of the plant slows down, the leaves may turn white, and the veins remain green.

Agrotechnics for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is significantly different from agricultural technology for open ground. In the greenhouse there is a significant difference in day and night temperatures, overheating of the plant, high humidity is possible during the day. Therefore, the selection of tomato varieties will directly affect the yield.

For growing in a greenhouse, it is necessary to select varieties and hybrids that are resistant to protected soil diseases, to fruit cracking, suitable for storage, giving a high and stable yield. You should also not select low bush varieties for growing in greenhouses. Only high-stemmed plants can produce crops for a long time even in the autumn.

Subject: " Tomato as a valuable vegetable crop

M aloyaz 2008

Plan

National economic importance

Botanical characteristics of tomatoes

Biological features of tomato

Tomato varieties

Soil preparation, sowing

culture care

Diseases and pests

Storage conditions

Economic evaluation

National economic importance

The tomato comes from South America. It was brought to Europe at the beginning of the 16th century, and has been cultivated in Russia since the end of the 18th century. Tomato occupies the 2nd place among vegetable crops. In our country, it is grown annually on 240 thousand hectares, which is 23% of the total area under vegetable crops. It is widely used in fresh and processed food. Many tomatoes are processed in the canning industry. Widely used in salting, marinating, obtaining tomato puree, juice paste and sauces. The recommended consumption of tomato per person per year is 17 kg. Fruits have very high nutritional and dietary properties. They have excellent taste qualities due to the content of sugar 4-5%, proteins 0.5-1.5, organic acids, fiber, mineral salts and various vitamins. Tomatoes are widely practiced in home canning.

High productivity, wide distribution, good taste and variety of uses have made tomato one of the most common crops in our country.

The biological value of fruits is exceptionally high. 1 kg contains (mg): vitamin C - 250-300, 6-carotene 15-17, vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 1.0-1.2, vitamin B2 oflavin) - 0.5-0.6, vitamin PP (nicotinic acid) -4.1-4.5, vitamin I (lycopene) -30-35, vitamin B9 (folic acid) - 0.75, vitamin H (biotin) - 0.04. In large quantities, fruits contain sugars (2.5-3.5%), proteins (0.6-1.1%), organic acids (0.4-0.6%), fats and essential oils (0. 2%), many different mineral salts. Tomato fruits also have phytoncidal properties. The knowledge of its biological characteristics, the implementation of all agrotechnical measures in the optimal time frame, and the correct selection of varieties contribute to an increase in the yield of tomato in household plots.

Subject to all these conditions in the open field with 1 m 2, you can get 5-7 kg of ripe fruits. In greenhouses, the yield is much higher - up to 15-20 and even 30 kg of fruit.

Botanical characteristics of tomatoes

Botanical features of tomato - an annual plant, the stem is herbaceous, erect or spreading, prone to branching, reaches various lengths from 30 cm to 2 m in open ground, and in greenhouses up to 5 m, the leaves are pinnate, lateral shoots are formed in the axils of the leaves. All green parts of tomato plants are covered with omission of long and short whitish stripes, which secrete a yellow-oily juice with a specific smell that repels insects.

After the formation of 5-14 leaves, inflorescences appear on the main stem. And from the upper lateral bud shoot (stepson), which continues the growth of plants, shoots grow continuously. Tomato flowers are yellow or multi-leaved, collected in a curl called a brush, the plant is self-pollinating. Tomato blooms during most of the growing season and hundreds of fruits weighing several tens of kilograms can form on one plant. The fruit of the tomato is a complex berry of two, four multi-celled. The shape of the fruit, size and color depends on the variety.

A young tomato has a tap root, and with the seedling method, the bulk is located in the upper 30-40 cm soil layer.

Tomato seeds are flat in color, forms at the base of a grayish-yellow color, omitted.

The tomato belongs to the nightshade family. Among the cultivated varieties, three varieties are distinguished. common tomato, having thin stems, lodging during the period of fruit formation. Almost 90% of all cultivated varieties belong to this variety. standard tomato, which is characterized by the compactness of the whole plant, erect thick stems, lodging under the weight of fruits, a leaf with a short petiole and a strongly corrugated surface. Varieties of this variety are much less common than the previous one. potato tomato, differing from the ordinary only in the structure of the leaf, it is large-lobed, similar to a potato. Varieties of the variety are practically not widely used.

In most cases, a tomato is an annual plant, but when certain conditions are created, it can be bi- or perennial. Propagated by seeds. They are flat, kidney-shaped, grayish-yellow in color, strongly pubescent. 1 g contains from 220 to 350 seeds. Their germination is well preserved for 5-7 years, and under certain conditions (constant air temperature + 14-16 ° C and humidity not lower than 75%), they germinate in the 10th and even 20th year of storage.

The root system of a tomato depends on the characteristics of cultivation and variety. Under optimal conditions, in vigorous varieties, it reaches 1.5-2.5 m in diameter and 1.0-1.5 m in depth. In protected ground, the bulk of the roots is located at a depth of 0.2-0.4 m.

Adventitious roots appear on the stem of a tomato anywhere when optimal conditions are created (high humidity of air and soil). This allows you to root individual parts of plants, such as stepchildren, and quickly get good planting material from them.

The stem of the tomato is round, juicy, erect, decumbent over time, covered with glandular hairs. During the fruiting period, it becomes rough, woody. Stepchildren appear from the axils of the leaves - lateral shoots. The strongest of them are those that form under the inflorescence.

The leaves of the tomato are alternate, unevenly pinnately dissected, consisting of lobes, lobules and lobules, and can only be of simple large lobes. The surface of the leaves is smooth or varying degrees of corrugation.

The inflorescence of a tomato is a curl, but is often called a brush by vegetable growers. The inflorescence is distinguished as simple, simple bilateral (when the axis of the inflorescence does not branch), intermediate (singly branched), complex (multiple branched) and very complex. The first inflorescence already begins to grow and develop when the second or third leaf appears on the plant, i.e., depending on the variety and external conditions, approximately 15-20 days after germination. During this period, it is necessary to strictly observe the mode of growing seedlings. The type of inflorescence largely depends on external conditions. A sharp change in temperature, light, mineral nutrition leads to a deviation from the normal development of the inflorescence. When the night air temperature is lowered during this period (+10-12°C), the first inflorescence is more branched, with a large number of flowers. High night temperatures (-)-22-24°C) contribute to the formation of fewer flowers on a longer and thinner-than-usual axis of the inflorescence.

In a greenhouse in winter or early spring, when there is very little light, inflorescences either do not form at all, or are very feeble, underdeveloped. On the contrary, in summer, in the same varieties, with an excess of light and high humidity of the soil and air, the inflorescence can reach a length of up to 0.5 m. Very often, under such conditions and in the presence of a large amount of nitrogen in the soil, they grow, i.e. form leaves or even run.

Under normal conditions, 50-60 days pass from germination to the beginning of flowering. Flowering occurs gradually, from the bottom up. When plants are formed into one stem (with the removal of all lateral stepchildren), in indeterminate varieties, only three inflorescences bloom at the same time, a maximum of four. Superdeterminant and determinant varieties, due to the more frequent arrangement of inflorescences (every one or two leaves), bloom more friendly.

On the inflorescence, the flowers located closer to the stem first open, and then gradually, depending on the variety and conditions, all the rest bloom within 5-15 days. Two to four flowers bloom at the same time. Each of them is open for an average of three to four days, then its color turns pale and the petals fade. In dry hot weather, this period is reduced to two days, and in cloudy and cold weather it increases to five to seven days or more.

Tomato flowers are self-pollinating. But at high humidity, pollen grains swell, stick together, and pollination of flowers almost does not occur. Often in tomatoes (in large-fruited varieties) there are fasciated (fused) flowers, from which multi-chambered, ribbed and often deformed fruits are subsequently formed.

After fertilization of the ovules, the growth of the ovary begins. The tomato has an upper ovary, with a different number of nests. From flowering to fruit ripening takes 45-60 days.

The fruits are fleshy berries of various weights, shapes and colors. By weight, they are divided into small (less than 50 g), medium (50-120 g) and large (over 120 g). In some varieties, fruits weighing 600-800 g are found. In shape, they are flat, round, oval, pear-shaped and elongated-cylindrical. The surface of the fruit is smooth or ribbed. Depending on the number of chambers, they are small-chamber (two-three), medium-chamber (four-five) and multi-chamber (more than six), the latter being more ribbed. If there are less than four or five chambers in the fetus, then they are located correctly, symmetrically. Incorrect arrangement of chambers is characteristic of larger fruits; they have practically no pulp (placental tissue), few seeds, fleshy. Depending on the uniformity of the color of green fruits, all varieties of tomato are divided into those with a uniform color and with a dark green spot near the place of attachment of the stalk. The fruits of the varieties of the second group ripen completely slowly, but they have a brighter color. The taste of fruits is determined by the content of sugars and acids. The more sunny days, the higher this ratio, the better the taste of the fruit.

Biological features of tomato

Tomato is a heat-loving crop. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 13-15, the optimum temperature for seed germination is 18-21, and for the growth and development of plants, the temperature is 22-24. at temperatures below 15, flowering stops, and at 10, plant growth stops, a prolonged decrease in temperature to 10 leads to abscission of flowers, delaying fruiting by 10-12 days. At a temperature of 0.5, flowers die, and at a temperature of -1, leaves and stems die. However, hardening of swollen seeds and seedlings increases resistance to short-term frosts to -6, at a temperature of 30, pollen in many varieties of tomato loses its viability, plant growth slows down, and stops at a temperature of 35.

Flowering of a tomato for 50-70 days after germination, the dying off of plants continues. The fruits ripen within 45-60 days. At the beginning of the ovary and fruits are green, in milky ripeness they are whitish-green, and at blange ripeness the fruits turn yellow, and then turn pink, at full ripeness they turn red.

With heavy rainfall, fruit cracking is observed. Tomato is picky about light, does not tolerate blackouts.

The soil under the tomato should be fertile, moist and loose. In relation to moisture, the tomato is demanding, especially during the period of intensive fruit growth. Lack of moisture leads to cessation of growth, abscission of flowers and ovaries. In relation to the nutrients, the tomato consumes potassium, phosphorus and sodium the most. The lack of sodium weakens the growth of the stem and leaves, phosphorus contributes to the rapid ripening of fruits, the growth of roots and early flowering. Potassium improves the tenderness of the fruit, increases the shelf life.

Temperature. One of the main conditions for obtaining an early and good overall tomato crop is to maintain an optimal temperature regime for the plant. In different periods of growth and development, the plant requires a certain temperature of air and soil.

Tomato is a thermophilic plant. The optimum temperature for seed germination is + 24-26°C. At temperatures below + 10 ° C, they do not germinate. After the appearance of cotyledons and the first two true leaves in plants, the temperature is lowered to + 18-20 ° C during the day and + 14-15 ° C at night. This temperature regime contributes to the good development of the first inflorescence. After the appearance of the first buds on the plant, the temperature during the day is reduced to + 17-18°C, and at night it is raised to + 16°C.

The optimal air and soil temperature for a tomato is largely determined by the illumination and the content of carbon dioxide in the air. At different times of the year, the air temperature for the plant depends on the weather conditions. In sunny weather in summer - + 22-25 ° €, on a cloudy day + 20-22 ° С, at night + 16-18 ° С; in the winter and early spring months, when the illumination is very low, during the day + 17-19 ° С, and if it is very cloudy, then + 15 ° С; at night, the temperature can be reduced to +12 C. With a normal CO2 content in the air (0.03%) and normal lighting, the optimum temperature for tomato photosynthesis is within + 20-25 ° C. Under normal conditions, the air temperature above +25°C adversely affects photosynthesis. At a temperature of +30-32°C and above, a significant decrease in plant growth is observed. Pollen in such conditions becomes sterile, the flowers fall off without setting fruit. Temperatures below 14°C are also critical for fertilization. At temperatures below 10°C, plant growth stops.

Night temperature is always maintained below daytime. This is especially important during the period of fruit growth. The difference must be at least 5°C. This is necessary so that the substances assimilated by the plant during the day are not intensively consumed at night for respiration.

Soil temperature has a great influence on all life processes of a tomato plant. If it is below 14 ° C, the synthesis of substances necessary for the growth and development of buds stops in the root system. In general, it is inactive at such a temperature and cannot ensure normal growth and fruiting. The optimum soil temperature for tomatoes is +20-25°C.

In a tomato, a certain pattern can be traced in relation to temperature. The higher it is, the faster ripening occurs, the inflorescence is less branched, the fruits are smaller and have fewer chambers, the internodes are longer, etc., which ultimately leads to an early but low overall yield. On the contrary, at low temperatures, a later, but large harvest is obtained. Therefore, in relation to specific conditions, it is necessary to select the desired temperature regime of soil and air.

All varieties of tomato have different heat requirements. For example, F1 Carlson TmC F and F1 Baby TmC prefer a temperature 1-2°C lower for their growth and development than is generally recommended for the culture. Varieties bred in the northern regions of the country are characterized by increased cold resistance and lower heat resistance compared to varieties of southern selection. With proper hardening of seedlings, the tomato is able to withstand short-term cooling well (from +3 to 0 ° C). But even short-term negative temperatures (-0.5-1.0 ° C) have a detrimental effect on the plant.

Light. This is one of the main factors limiting the growth and development of plants, especially in protected ground. Tomato is very picky about light. The minimum illumination at which the vegetative growth of the plant is still possible is 2-3 thousand lux. At illumination below this threshold, the decay of assimilants into respiration will exceed their income from photosynthesis.

For the formation of generative organs, buds and flowers, the illumination should be above 4-6 thousand lux. At low light intensity, the inflorescence is laid much higher than usual (above the 10-13th leaf and above), the number of leaves between the inflorescences increases. Quite often, under such lighting, a complete reduction of the inflorescence occurs. This happens when growing seedlings on short winter days, when the illumination in the middle zone of the country is 3-7 thousand lux. Inflorescences formed under such conditions have a small number of buds and flowers, which practically do not set fruits. Seedlings can be grown at this time only with artificial illumination.

The lack of light can be felt when growing seedlings for film greenhouses and open ground in the early spring months. Tomato seedlings are elongated, forming thin stems with small light leaves, which negatively affects the formation of generative organs and early harvest. At this point, everything possible must be done to prevent the negative impact of low light on the development of plants. It is necessary to ensure the maximum use of natural light. "When growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, this is facilitated by structures with the smallest possible number of ceilings in the roof, the orientation of the structure to the south, cleaning the glass from dust, and the optimal layout of plants.

Of great importance when growing seedlings is the area of ​​plant nutrition. The dense standing and shading of the stems leads to their rapid growth in height, which negatively affects the quality of the seedlings.

The optimal illumination for a tomato is 20 thousand lux or more. But with continuous illumination, the leaf blade develops poorly, chlorotic spots appear on it, plant growth is delayed. However, this is not observed under polar day conditions, which is explained by fluctuations in illumination during the day and especially in temperature. The tomato reacts weakly to the length of the day, but is very responsive to the total energy of light. The optimal length of the day for him is 14-16 hours.

Illumination and temperature largely determine the rate at which a plant passes through all stages of development. The higher the light and temperature (up to certain limits), the shorter the period before fruit ripening. At 80-100 thousand lux, the plant begins to be oppressed, burns of leaves and fruits are possible.

Tomato prefers direct solar radiation, not diffused. In the autumn-winter period, when scattered radiation predominates, or in prolonged cloudy weather, the quality of the fruits is much worse.

The ultraviolet part of the light spectrum contributes to the accumulation of vitamin C in the plant, increases its cold resistance. This must be taken into account when hardening seedlings grown under glazed frames.

A more complete use of solar radiation can be achieved by growing new varieties and hybrids of tomato that can grow and bear fruit in extreme conditions. Recommended indoor varieties, these varieties tolerate low light much better than those grown outdoors.

Water. This is the main component of the tomato plant itself. It is included in almost all organic compounds synthesized by the leaf, dissolves and transports minerals, and helps to maintain optimal temperature conditions due to transpiration. Providing a tomato plant with water is one of the most important conditions for its normal life.

In the process of growth, the need of a plant for water is not the same. During seed germination and fruit filling, it reaches a maximum. When growing seedlings, during flowering and fruit set, soil moisture should not exceed 70-75% of the total field moisture capacity (FWC). Plants at this moment should experience a certain moisture deficit, which leads to the containment of intensive vegetative growth. At the same time, the drying of the soil, leading to shedding of flowers and even young ovaries, should not be allowed.

After fruit set on the first inflorescences, the irrigation regime of the plants is changed. It is watered more often and the soil moisture is adjusted to 75-85% of the FPV. Sharp changes in soil moisture during the period of growth and ripening of fruits are unacceptable. This causes a decrease in their average weight and may lead to cracking.

The number of irrigations depends not only on the phase of plant development, but also on solar radiation, air temperature and its movement, and agricultural technology. It is better to water tomatoes in a greenhouse and greenhouse in the morning, in sunny weather. In the open field, this can be done in the evening. Irrigation water temperature + 20-25°С. It is impossible to overmoisten the soil. This worsens its air regime and adversely affects the activity of the root system.

For a tomato plant, air humidity is of great importance, which has a tangible effect on the fertilization of a flower. Its optimal value is 60-70%. At high rates (80-90%), the pollen sticks together and stops spilling out of the pollen sacs. At low air humidity (50-60%), the pollen that has fallen on the stigma of the pistil does not germinate.

With high humidity, there is always the possibility of fungal diseases of tomato.

Air. The gas composition of the air plays a special role in the active life of the tomato. For example, without oxygen, a plant cannot breathe. The root system is especially acute. With waterlogging of the soil, compaction, crust formation, the roots poorly absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

In the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is of great importance. Its natural content in the air (0.03%) is not enough to get high yields. Its optimal content in the air for a tomato is 0.15-0.20%. In this case, with high solar radiation and a temperature that is 2-3 ° C higher than the recommended one, the maximum productivity of photosynthesis in the plant is possible. Carbon dioxide top dressing makes it possible to increase the set of fruits and increase their size, to sharply increase the overall and especially the early productivity of the crop.

Carbon dioxide top dressing is carried out from morning to 14-16 hours of the day. It is especially needed in the winter-spring months. With an excess of CO2 in the air at night and low illumination in winter (below 2 thousand lux), necrotic spots appear on the leaves. The movement of air contributes to a better absorption of carbon dioxide by the plant.

Ammonia has a significant effect on tomatoes. When stuffing greenhouses with fresh manure, ammonia poisoning of plants is possible - damage to the lower leaves in the form of burns. In this regard, it is recommended to plant tomatoes in greenhouses a week after stuffing.

Soil and fertilizers. Tomato can be grown on various soils, but it feels best on sandy or loamy soils, which have good moisture capacity and breathability. In protected ground, you can use the same soil, filling it well with organic and mineral fertilizers.

It is best to place the tomato on the predecessors seasoned with organic fertilizers - on cabbage, cucumbers, etc.

In a greenhouse, it is most often planted after cucumbers, which leave excess nitrogen in the soil. In the early spring months, this leads to "fatting", i.e., excessive vegetative growth, which retards the generative development of plants. This is eliminated by preliminary introduction of nitrogen-binding materials (straw, sawdust) into the soil. The best soil acidity for tomato is 6.0-6.5. Acidic soils must be limed, otherwise many nutrients will be in a form that is indigestible for the plant.

Tomato is very responsive to the use of mineral and organic fertilizers. Most of all, it consumes potassium, especially during the fruiting period. Potassium is important in the first stages of plant development, especially with a lack of light, with the growth of fruits. It is necessary for the formation of stems and ovaries, active assimilation of carbon dioxide.

The plant uses nitrogen to form vegetative organs, especially during the period from germination to flowering. At this time, it is necessary to strictly control the doses of nitrogen nutrition, otherwise the plants begin to develop magnificently and the flowers from the lower inflorescences fall off.

The introduction of nitrogen is increased only after fruit set on the first inflorescences.

Of particular importance is the correct ratio between potassium and nitrogen during the entire period of growth and development of the tomato. In top dressing, it ranges from 2.5: 1 in winter and 1: 1 in summer.

Phosphorus consumption by the plant is low. It mainly goes to the growth of the root system, fruits and seeds. In spring, at low soil temperatures (15°C), its uptake by roots is sharply limited.

In addition to these elements, the tomato absorbs magnesium in a very large amount, which is especially necessary for it during the period of growth and ripening of the fruit. Plants also need various microelements, the richest source of which in an easily accessible form is manure.

The yield of tomatoes is determined by the diet. In order not to lose a significant part of the crop, it is best to apply mineral and organic fertilizers under it in advance, before tillage.

Tomato varieties

Depending on the nature of growth and branching of these shoots, all tomato varieties are divided into two groups:

indeterminate (with unlimited growth);

determinant (with limited growth).

The branching of the shoots in both groups is sympodial, i.e., after the formation of the first inflorescence above the 6-11th leaf, growth continues due to the lateral shoot, which appears from the axil of the uppermost leaf. With the growth of this shoot, the inflorescence shifts to the side, and the leaf in the axil of which it is laid is carried out above the inflorescence. After the formation of three leaves in this shoot, an inflorescence is formed and its growth stops. From the axil of the leaf located under this inflorescence, a continuation shoot again appears with three leaves, etc. Thus, the growth of the plant continues uninterruptedly (indeterminate type of growth). In practice, it is customary to call this set of shoots formed in the process of sympodial branching the main, main stem.

Tomato varieties with an indeterminate type of growth are characterized by strong vegetative growth and high remontability (constant regrowth and flowering), uniformity in yield yield and ease of plant formation into one stem. Most varieties of this group are used in protected ground.

In tomato varieties with a determinant type of growth, the main stem stops growing after the formation of three to five inflorescences. The average number of leaves in determinant tomatoes between inflorescences is always less than three - there are two of them, one. Sometimes even inflorescences follow one after another in a row.

This group of cultivars is characterized by early maturity, high yield yield, and low remontability. These varieties are best grown outdoors.

In recent years, in connection with the directional selection of tomato varieties for protected ground, new forms have appeared that have features characteristic of both determinant and indeterminate types of growth. They are characterized by long, unrestricted growth of the main stem with the inflorescence less than three leaves apart.

To facilitate the selection of varieties for certain growing conditions, all existing determinant varieties of tomato, depending on their morphological characteristics and remontance, are divided into three groups:

1 - superdeterminant. They form only two or three inflorescences on the main stem and vegetative growth stops for a long time. All shoots quickly end their growth with inflorescences and a highly branched small bush is formed. The second, weakened, growth wave is observed after the ripening of most of the fruits. The height of the first inflorescence is the seventh or eighth leaf. Between two subsequent inflorescences on the main stem there is one leaf, less often two, and sometimes the inflorescences follow directly one after the other. The varieties of this group are the most early, and the return of the crop is very intensive. During the first 20 days of fruiting, 70-80% of all fruits ripen in them;

2 - determinant. They are characterized by limiting the growth of the main stem after the formation of four to six inflorescences, and sometimes more. The second wave of vegetative growth in them occurs much earlier than in superdeterminant tomatoes, it is more pronounced and is observed already after the formation of fruits on the first inflorescences. The height of the first inflorescence in this group of tomatoes is the eighth or ninth leaf. Subsequent inflorescences follow through one leaf, more often through two. The varieties are medium-early and early, the beginning of ripening occurs 5-7 days later than in the previous group. The harvest period is longer. For 20 days of fruiting, the yield of mature fruits is about 50% of the crop. Determinate forms make better use of the volume of the greenhouse, they are more productive than superdeterminant ones;

3 - semi-determinant. A distinctive feature of this group of varieties is a weakened manifestation of determinance - the absence of growth restriction of the main shoot even after the formation of 8-10 inflorescences. Unlike determinant varieties, inflorescences are laid here on average after two or three leaves. The first inflorescence is located after the ninth-tenth leaf, which is one to three leaves higher than that of the tomatoes of the previous groups. Semi-determinant tomatoes, despite the fact that they belong to the group of varieties with a determinant type of growth, are very late ripening. In terms of the uniformity of their yield, they approach varieties with an indeterminate type of growth.

Varieties of varieties:

Nevsky 7. Bred in the North-Western Research Institute of Agriculture. The plant is standard, dwarf, slightly leafy. The leaf is dark green, strongly corrugated. The inflorescence is simple and is laid over the fifth or sixth leaf. Fruits from flat-round to round, smooth, small (40-60 g), three-, five-chambered. The variety is very early. To obtain a high yield, dense plantings are necessary (6-10 plants per 1 m 2). The yield of one plant is 0.3-0.5 kg.

Alpatiev 905a. Brought to VNIISSOK. The plant is standard, upright, strongly leafy. The leaf is typical for standard forms, medium size. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid over the sixth - eighth leaf. Subsequent inflorescences develop through one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round, smooth and slightly ribbed, medium-sized (55-75 g), three-, five-chambered, has a dark green spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The average yield of a plant is 0.4-1.0 kg.

White filling 241. Bred at the vegetable experimental station TSHA. The plant is ordinary, medium-sized, medium leafy. The leaf is light green. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid over the sixth or seventh leaf, subsequent inflorescences - after one or two leaves. The fruit is round, smooth, medium in size and large (80-130 g). The color of the immature fruit is uniform, greenish-whitish. The variety is early. The average yield of one plant is 0.8-2.2 kg.

Barnaul canning. It was bred at the West Siberian vegetable-potato breeding experimental station of the Research Institute of Organic Chemistry. The plant is ordinary, undersized, slightly leafy. The leaf is light green, medium and small. The inflorescence is simple, laid over the fifth or sixth leaf, subsequent inflorescences through one leaf. The fruit is oval, smooth, small (30-50 g), two-, five-chambered. The immature fruit has a dark green spot at the stalk. Suitable for whole-fruit canning and salting. The variety is very early. To obtain a higher overall yield, dense plantings are required - six to eight plants per 1 m 2. The yield of one plant is 0.5-1.3 kg.

Svitanok. Bred at the Kyiv vegetable and potato experimental station. The plant is compact, medium leafy. The leaf is of medium size, medium frilled. Inflorescence of intermediate type, long, laid over the fifth - seventh leaf, subsequent ones - through one leaf. The fruit is flat-round, smooth, medium size (70-90 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark green spot at the stalk. The number of chambers in the fetus b-11. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 1.0-2.2 kg.

Talalikhin 186. Bred in the Belarusian NIIKPO. The plant is semi-spreading, medium leafy. The leaf is ordinary, medium in size. The inflorescence is simple, short, laid above the seventh or eighth leaf, the next - after one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round, smooth and slightly ribbed, of medium size (80-100 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark green spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 0.5-1.4 kg.

Sparkle. Bred at the Kyiv vegetable and potato experimental station. The plant is medium-branched, medium leafy. The leaf is green, ordinary, medium size. An inflorescence of an intermediate type, is laid over the fifth or sixth leaf, subsequent inflorescences - through one leaf. The fruit is elongated-oval, smooth, beautiful, weighing 80-PO g. The color is light green, uniform. The variety is early. The fruits have a good lying-bone. The average yield of one plant is 1.2-2.0 kg.

Ground Gribovsky 1180. Bred in VNIISSOK - Plants are semi-spreading, medium leafy. The sheet is medium in size, slightly corrugated. The inflorescence is simple and intermediate, short, laid above the sixth or seventh leaf, subsequent inflorescences - after one or two leaves. The fruit is flat-round and round, slightly ribbed, of medium size (60-90 g). The color of the immature fruit is green, with a dark spot at the stalk. The variety is early. The yield of one plant is 0.4-1.1 kg.

Win 165. Bred in the Belarusian NIIKPO. The plant is srednerosly, medium foliage. Leaves are dark green and medium in size. The inflorescence is simple and intermediate, lays.

Soil preparation, sowing

Site selection. Tomato grows and bears fruit on any soil, but it is better if they are lighter. The choice of a site is especially important at early terms of cultivation of a tomato. The soil should be well aerated, moisture-intensive, high in humus and nutrients, with a soil solution reaction close to neutral. On heavy clay soils, which warm up much worse, quickly swim and compact, it is difficult to get an early harvest. It is undesirable for plants and the proximity of groundwater.

In addition to the type of soil, the location of the selected site on the ground is of great importance. The tomato is thermophilic and under it in the middle lane it is best to choose areas located on the southern, southeastern or southwestern slopes. The southern slopes warm up faster by the sun, are ready for planting seedlings much earlier and are less susceptible to frost. For early production, the southern slopes are especially good, receiving more solar radiation in the spring months.

Out of the blue, choose areas that have natural or specially created protection from the prevailing spring winds - a solid high fence, backstage. Tomato is best grown after cabbage, onion, cucumber, zucchini, i.e. those vegetable crops under which fresh manure is brought. It is not recommended to grow it for tomatoes, potatoes, peppers either immediately or after 2-3 years. The proximity to the area where potatoes are grown is also undesirable, since the diseases and pests of these crops are basically the same.

Site preparation. They begin to prepare a plot for a tomato in the fall, removing and destroying the crop residues of the previous crop. Under the autumn deep digging of the soil, organic fertilizers (rotted manure, humus) are applied at the rate of 4-5 kg ​​per 1 m 2. In autumn, mineral fertilizers can also be applied - superphosphate (60-80 g / m 2) and potassium sulfate (20-25 g / m 2). It is desirable that they fall into the upper (10-12 cm) soil layer. With such incorporation, the efficiency of their absorption by the root system is maximum, and the degree of leaching into the lower soil layers after rain or irrigation is much reduced. However, spring application of mineral fertilizers gives better results. When growing tomatoes early, it is especially effective to apply superphosphate directly to the well - 15 g per well. This ensures good fruit set and growth on the first inflorescences. Nitrogen fertilizers are best applied later, with fertilizing during. fruit growth time. Even a small excess of nitrogen in the early stages of growth delays the development of the plant and the formation of an early harvest. Therefore, fresh manure directly under the tomato is not recommended.

If it is not possible to choose a site that meets its requirements for soils and lighting conditions for a tomato, they try to properly prepare the existing one for it.

On heavy, clay soils, large doses of organic fertilizers are applied. This not only contributes to a better supply of plants with various mineral nutrients, but also significantly improves the physical and mechanical properties of the soil. The improvement of the thermal and water-air regimes of such soil is facilitated by the making of ridges. They are oriented in length from east to west. It is best to make ridges that are triangular in cross section (Fig. 6). Their gentle slope faces south, and short and high - to the north. The southern slope of the ridge, where the plants will be located, better captures the sun's rays and has the temperature of the soil and the adjacent air layer + 1.5-2.5 ° C higher than with the usual layout of the site. On such beds, the fruits ripen 5-8 days earlier than on a flat area.

On the same ridges, it is possible to grow tomatoes in reclaimed swamp areas. On sandy and sandy loamy soils, tomatoes are not cultivated on the ridges.

Boarding times. The optimal time for planting seedlings in open ground in the middle lane is the first decade of June. This is due to the fact that, for example, in the Moscow region, the date of the last spring frost falls on June 12. And although the average daily air temperature is above 10 ° C already on May 9, and frosts end on average on May 12, planting a tomato in open ground during these periods is very risky. Late spring frosts (end of May) occur 2-3 times in 10 years.

To obtain an early harvest, it is advisable to plant tomato seedlings a little earlier than the recommended dates, i.e. May 20-25. The soil by this time is already warming up to a temperature above 10-12 ° C, and the root system of plants is already able to absorb water and minerals.

The risk associated with earlier planting of tomatoes, insured by strict adherence to agricultural technology and preparation to combat possible frosts, is fully justified by the arrival of ripe fruits already at the end of July.

Seedlings planted early take root better, get sick less and give an early harvest 30-40% more than those planted in early June.

Landing plans. The choice of planting scheme, or determining the area of ​​plant nutrition, depends on a number of factors. The most significant of them is the varietal characteristics of the plant. Even from the group of superdeterminant and determinant varieties of tomato recommended for open ground, one can single out weaker and more compact ones. So, if the varieties Nevsky 7, Barnaul canning can be planted at the rate of six to eight plants per 1 m 2, then Peremoga 165, Ground Gribovsky 1180 - no more than four plants.

Partial or complete removal of continuation shoots (stepchildren) has a great influence on the change in the area of ​​​​nutrition of a tomato plant. So, when stepping into one stem, leaving two to four inflorescences, the growth of the plant root is sharply reduced. Consequently, it will be possible to place 15-20% more plants on the same area than without pinching. The layout of plants in this case changes by reducing the distance between them in a row.

The planting scheme is also affected by whether it is planned to tie the plants to any support. All this must be taken into account not only when placing them on the site, but also a little earlier, when determining the number of seedlings grown.

Plants are arranged in rows on the plot. For standard and low-growing varieties, the following planting pattern is recommended: 60 cm between rows and 25-30 cm between plants in a row; for medium-sized varieties - 70 cm between rows and 30-35 cm between plants in a row. If the planting scheme is chosen correctly, the plants of this variety by the time of fruiting fully occupy the space that is allocated to them.

Rows of tomato on a flat area, unlike ridges, can be placed from south to north, which creates better conditions for uniform illumination of plants.

A tape planting of a tomato is also possible, especially when using ridges or various methods of tying a plant. Usually the tape consists of two rows with a distance between them of 50-60 cm. One tape is 90-100 cm away from the other. The distance between plants depends on the variety and type of crop and ranges from 25 to 35 cm.

Preparing seedlings for planting. Early planting of a tomato is possible if the seedlings are properly grown and hardened. Pampered seedlings are unable to ensure the formation of an early harvest in conditions of sharp changes in day and night temperatures and high solar radiation.

Before planting, in order to prevent fungal diseases, seedlings are treated with copper-containing preparations - Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride. Usually, the night before planting, seedlings not grown in pots are well watered to select them with a large clod of soil at the roots. The less seedlings lose roots during transplantation, the higher its survival rate and the more active the initial growth, the earlier the plant begins to bear fruit. Seedlings grown in pots can not be heavily watered, since their root system is almost not disturbed during sampling. Underdeveloped and diseased plants are discarded.

Landing. Seedlings are planted in holes that are prepared in advance according to the chosen planting pattern. Fertilizers are applied to them before planting (15 g of superphosphate and one or two handfuls of humus), which are mixed with the soil and watered well with water (1.0-1.5 liters per well). Properly grown seedlings are planted vertically, deepening into the soil just above the cotyledons. The soil around the roots is slightly compacted. Excessive deepening of plants only worsens their survival, because the deeper layers of the soil during the planting period have not yet warmed up enough.

Overgrown and elongated seedlings are planted obliquely, with the tip to the south. The roots and the lower part of the stem with three or four leaves removed are laid lying down in prepared holes, and if the seedlings are very long, then in furrows 12-15 cm deep and sprinkled with soil. In moist and well-warmed soil, after 7-10 days, that part of the stem that was sprinkled with earth forms adventitious roots, which contributes to enhanced soil nutrition of the plant.

Seedlings are best planted on cloudy days or in the evening. At the same time, plants get sick less, take root well and quickly start growing. The soil around them after planting is left dry.

If it is decided in the future to tie the plants to stakes, on the eve of planting, they must be driven in from the north side of the hole. A stake about 150 cm long, 4-5 cm in diameter is driven into the soil to a depth of 40-50 cm so that after planting the plant is at a distance of 8-10 cm

culture care

Tomato care includes the following types of work:

1) Weed control is inter-row cultivation and weeding in rows.

2) Hilling, which is carried out several times

3) Stepping, i.e. removal of shoots when they reach no more than 5 m.

4) Pinching the main stem to the point of growth to limit growth.

5) Watering and fertilizing with solutions of mineral and organic fertilizers. Watering is carried out as needed, and top dressing before each hilling.

6) Fight against diseases and pests. Against phytophthora, a 1% solution of Bardock liquid is used, and against leaf spot, a 0.4-0.75% solution is valuable.

Watering and loosening the soil. For the first 2-3 weeks I after planting, especially in the early stages, tomato plants are not recommended to be watered. The water poured into the hole when planting seedlings is enough for them to take root and grow.

In the first half of the growing season, before fruit set on the first inflorescences, watering is carried out to a limited extent, but they try to prevent the soil from drying out too much.

Water plants under the root. When watering by sprinkling, the air and soil temperature sharply decreases, which negatively affects flowering, the shedding of flowers increases, fruit set and ripening are delayed. At the same time, air humidity increases, which leads to the emergence and spread of fungal diseases. During the growth of fruits, the need for a tomato plant in water increases dramatically. Watering should be done more often and regularly. A drop in soil moisture at this point causes stunting of green fruits, cracking of ripe ones and, in combination with other factors, leads to the spread of blossom end rot.

After each watering, the soil is loosened, destroying weeds. The first loosening is carried out to a depth of 8-12 cm, the subsequent ones are somewhat smaller (4-5 cm). Deep first loosening creates favorable conditions in the upper soil layer for its warming up, which is very important for plants at the beginning of the growing season. The soil should not swim and compact, otherwise the activity of the root system will deteriorate sharply. During the cultivation of a tomato, it is loosened 3-5 times.

Over time, the lower leaves of a tomato plant, most often in contact with the soil, grow old and begin to die off. To prevent the appearance and spread of various fungal diseases on the site, they are periodically removed.

Top dressing. Mineral fertilizers are best given to plants in liquid form after watering. The first feeding is carried out two to three weeks after planting the plants in the soil, during the formation of ovaries on the first inflorescence. It mainly consists of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (20-25 g of superphosphate and 15-20 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m 2). Nitrogen fertilizers should not be given at this time, but if the soils are very poor and this negatively affects plant growth, it can be applied with top dressing up to 10 g per 1 m 2 of ammonium nitrate.

The second, and sometimes the third top dressing is carried out with mass growth and ripening of fruits. Here it is already necessary to add 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate and 20-25 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m 2, which contributes to a more intensive filling of fruits.

Very good results, especially for obtaining an early harvest, give foliar top dressing, which serves as an addition to the usual plant nutrition, but does not replace it. To do this, use well-soluble fertilizers (g per 10 liters of water): urea-16, superphosphate-10, potassium chloride-16. Superphosphate is not completely soluble in water, so an aqueous extract is prepared from it: a day before it is soaked (1: 10) and periodically mixed. Before spraying the plants, the water extract must be filtered through several layers of gauze. When foliar top dressing, microelements are also used together with fertilizers.

Such top dressing is often carried out in conjunction with the treatment of plants against diseases or pests. This is best done in the evening, when the nutrient solution applied to the leaves dries slowly, and the morning dew contributes to its better absorption.

To prevent the spread of fungal diseases, periodically, 2-3 times per season, especially after rains, in the second half of July, plants are treated with copper-containing preparations - Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride.

Mulching. Mulching contributes to the reduction of inter-row cultivation, as well as the creation of a better water-air and temperature regime in the soil. This technique is especially effective for obtaining an early harvest on heavy soils, which warm up later in the spring, and lose a lot of moisture due to the formation of a crust in the summer. Mulching in such areas is best done with a special black plastic wrap or old used one.

Other materials are also suitable for it - peat, straw, rotted manure, sawdust. But they do not accumulate heat so much and the temperature of the soil under them rises slowly. They can be applied when the soil has warmed up well, but has not yet had time to compact.

Pinching and pinching plants. After planting in open ground, various methods of plant formation are used to obtain an earlier tomato crop. The purpose of these operations is to redistribute the consumption of plant plastic substances in the direction of rapid growth and development of fruits on a certain number of inflorescences.

When growing a tomato without pinching, the yield and its supply mainly depend on the varietal characteristics of the crop and external conditions. In a tomato, from each leaf axil, that is, from where the leaf departs from the stem, after the formation of one or two inflorescences, there is a rapid growth of continuation shoots - stepchildren. Each of them gives rise to a separate stem. Depending on the degree of determinancy, two or three inflorescences or more are formed on each stem, after which growth stops. In indeterminate varieties, the growth of stepchildren is unlimited. In turn, from the axils of the leaves of the stepchildren, the growth of continuation shoots is also possible, etc.

The rapid growth of the plant and its branching begin to decline only when the fruits appear on the first inflorescences. But their growth and filling is slow, because the plant simultaneously blooms and sets fruits on more than 15-20 inflorescences. A large crop is formed, but its receipt in time is significantly delayed.

Therefore, without pinching in open ground in the middle lane, it is possible to grow tomato varieties such as Nevsky 7, Barnaul canning, Bely filling 241, which usually have time to form and give up most of the crop. The proportion of ripe fruits in this case largely depends on weather conditions. The higher the temperature and the more sunny days, the more ripe fruits. But the plants of these varieties, grown without pinching, even in the best years give quite a lot of small and non-marketable fruits.

In the middle lane, usually those fruits that set up before August 1 manage to grow and ripen on the plant. The growth and development of shoots, inflorescences, which continue after August 1, is not only the loss of plastic substances by the plant, but also a significant delay in the arrival of an already formed crop. To prevent this, in late July - early August, a one-time removal of all small stepchildren from the plant is carried out with simultaneous pinching on the remaining shoots of growth points. Two or three leaves or more must be left above the inflorescences with already set fruits, and only then the shoot growth point is removed. The growth and development of fruits on the inflorescence of a tomato occurs due to two or three leaves located next to it. Inflorescences that have just formed or have begun to bloom are also removed, but the large shoots on which they were located are left. Such a one-time stepping by the end of the growing season allows the plant to more purposefully use the available reserves for the growth and ripening of already existing fruits. Compared to non-stemmed plants, the fruits are larger and of better quality.

Wanting to get a very early harvest, pinching is carried out regularly once every 7-10 days. Plants, depending on the variety, can be formed into one or more stems. All other shoots growing from the axils of the leaves, both on the main and on other stems, are removed. Tomato varieties Bely filling 241, Moskvich, Barnaul canning, Svitanok, etc., recommended for open ground in the middle zone of the country, are grown in one, two or three stems (Fig. 8). The second stem is formed from the stepson growing in the axil of the leaf located under the first inflorescence, the third stem is formed from the axils of the second leaf under the first brush.

On each stem of these varieties, due to the natural growth restriction, an average of three inflorescences is laid. When plants are formed into three stems, the development of inflorescences everywhere occurs almost simultaneously, with only some delay on the lower ones. The return of the crop with this method of plant formation occurs somewhat later than with a single-stem culture.

For a very early harvest of mature fruits, superdeterminant plants are left with one or two stems. But even in this case, in the open field, the fruits usually ripen only on the first three to five inflorescences. Therefore, when forming in three stems, part of the crop may consist of still green fruits.

In determinant varieties of tomato (Gruntovy Gribovsky 1180, Peremoga 165, Siberian early ripening 1450, etc.) due to stronger growth than the previous group of varieties, more inflorescences on the stem (five to six) and leaves between inflorescences (one or two) plants in the open field form a little differently.

To obtain a very early harvest, one stem is isolated, leaving two or three inflorescences. After the last inflorescence, one or two leaves are left and the growth point is removed. It is possible to grow determinant varieties of tomato in one stem without pinching the growing point , but then there will be at least five or six inflorescences, on which the fruits will not always have time to ripen. Forming plants of these varieties in two stems , they leave only four to eight inflorescences and be sure to pinch the growing point. In three stems, determinant varieties are practically not grown.

Stepchildren are removed small (3-5 cm), not allowing them to outgrow. When a large stepchild is removed, a significant wound remains on the stem and the plant unproductively spends its plastic substances on its overgrowth.

After pinching the growth point, when forming the plant into one or two stems, stepchildren should be regularly removed. This will speed up the growth and ripening of fruits. When plants are formed in one or two stems, leaving two to four inflorescences, the production arrives at the end of July, which is 15-25 days earlier than without planting. The total yield per unit area, if the planting pattern is left unchanged, when plants are formed into one stem, can even be lower than with the usual method of cultivation. But in this case, the single-stem tomato form, on average, produces twice as many ripe fruits as the bush one.

For a more complete use of the area of ​​​​the site and an increase not only in the early, but also in the total yield, when grown in one stem of plants on the same plot, they plant 15-20% more. For example, if plants without pinching are placed in a row every 35 cm, then when they are formed into one stem, this distance can be significantly reduced to 20-30 cm.

To create optimal lighting conditions, to facilitate the formation of plants and care for them, their garter 3-4 times per season to various supports, most often stakes, helps. Make sure that the twine is not pulled too tight on the plant and does not damage it. Plants can be tied to a wire trellis stretched between 4-5 m and reinforced supports.

Diseases and pests

whitefly- a small (1.5 mm) insect with a yellowish body and two pairs of mealy-white wings. Harm larvae, nymphs and adults, sucking juice from plants. On the sticky sugary secretions of the whitefly, sooty fungi often settle, covering the surface of the leaves with a black coating. Females lay eggs in groups, often in the form of a ring of 10-20 pieces on the underside of the leaves, mostly the youngest ones. The female is able to lay up to 130 eggs. Larvae are pale green with red eyes, flat, elongated oval, covered with spines. After 2 molts, they turn into nymphs, from which adult insects fly out after 15 days. In greenhouses, the pest gives 10-14 generations.

Control measures: three times spraying with a suspension of verticillium (during the seedling period, in the phase of 6-8 leaves and after another 10 days), the consumption of the suspension is 1 liter per 10 sq.m. at the beginning, middle and end of the growing season, treatment with carbos, 10% c.e (60).

Colorado beetle. The beetle is egg-shaped, convex from above, yellowish-brown in color with 10 black stripes on the elytra and with black spots on the pronotum, 16-18 mm long. The hindwings are pinkish-red. The eggs are orange, oblong, 0.8-1.5 mm long. Larvae are orange-red or yellow in color, with a strongly thickened abdomen on the sides with black spots and a black head, up to 15-16 mm long. Beetles overwinter in the soil. Eggs are laid in clusters on the underside of leaves. After 7-10 days, larvae appear that feed on plants from 20 to 40 days.

Control measures: regular collection of beetles and larvae. With mass abundance - treatment with 80% s.p. (6g) dibrom, 10% s.e. (140g), phoxim (150g), mesox, 25% s.e. (60g), subject to the technique security.

Medvedka an adult insect 35-50 mm long, brown in color with shortened elytra, from under which the lower wings protrude, folded in the form of flagella. The forelegs have widened flat tibiae with teeth adapted for digging the soil. Eggs are round oval, up to 2.5 mm long. The larvae are similar in body shape to adult insects. Medvedka breeds in greenhouses. Warm manure and regular watering of plants attract her. Prefers areas where manure and humus are scattered.

Control measures: autumn plowing and row-spacing processing; screening the soil and viewing manure in the preparation of protected ground. The use of poisoned baits from bran or corn soaked in a solution of 80% chlorophos (50 g per 1 kg of bait) is applied to a depth of 2-3 cm 7-10 days before sowing.

Late blight - one of the most common and harmful fungal diseases of tomatoes. It affects fruits, leaves and stems. A characteristic sign of fruit disease is the formation of a hard, blurry dark brown spot that spreads deep into the fruit and on their surface. severely affected fruits have a bumpy surface affected tissues on the leaves first lighten and wilt, then a dark brown spot appears in wet weather on the underside of the leaves a white coating forms on the stems the disease manifests itself in the form of solid dark brown spots.

Control measures: spatial isolation of tomatoes; the use of high doses of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, the cultivation of early ripe resistant varieties

black bacterial spot. The most dangerous in years with hot and humid summers on the leaves appear small watery spots 1-2 mm in diameter, rounded or irregular in shape, in the center their tissue is almost black, around it is yellow. Sometimes the disease manifests itself in the form of black stripes. Spots merge on petioles and stems. Leaves turn yellow and die. The fruits are covered with dark convex dots surrounded by a watery border.

Control measures: use for sowing seeds collected from healthy plants. Top dressing with microelements: boron, copper, manganese.

Mosaic: appears as an alternation on the leaves of light green, yellow areas with dark green. The leaves become wrinkled threadlike. The development of plants is suspended, the fruits remain underdeveloped, and internal necrosis occurs in them.

Control measures: heating the seeds for 2 days at a temperature of 50-52, and then at a temperature of 80.

Aphids. Very dangerous pests of vegetable crops. Up to 30 species of aphids are found in greenhouses, among which the most common are gourd, green peach, large potato and common, etc. Aphids penetrate greenhouses from weeds growing in areas adjacent to greenhouses, or are brought in with affected planting material. In protected ground conditions, aphids give several generations during the growing season. In the farms of the Leningrad region and the Non-Chernozem region, aphids more often damage tomatoes in the autumn-winter turnover and when forcing seedlings in January-February, as well as when planting plants in a permanent place.

Control measures. Destruction in greenhouses and greenhouses, as well as around them weeds. Do not keep ornamental plants in greenhouses. A set of preventive measures can delay the appearance of aphids to May and later.

Spraying with karbofos, 50% c.e. Actellica (3 - 6 l/ha). Treatments with actellik are stopped 3 days before, and karbofos - 2 days before the elimination of plants. For eradicating spraying use 40% k. e. phosphamide (BI-58) - treating plants with it 5 days before their elimination. Plant infectious residues on the wire are destroyed by firing.

During the growing season, they are treated with 0.12% karbofos, 0.1% actellik.

Common spider mite. One of the most dangerous pests of vegetable crops in greenhouses. Distributed everywhere. It has been noted on more than 100 plant species. Symptoms of leaf damage appear as light, later turning brown and drying spots, densely covering the leaves, which die prematurely. In the process of its development, the tick goes through the phases of egg, larva, nymph, adult male and female. In the greenhouses of the Non-Chernozem region, overwintered females appear on young plants by the time they are planted in a permanent place (January - February). Under favorable conditions, they lay 40 - 60 eggs on the underside of the leaves. Larvae hatch in 3-6 days, the development of one generation takes 10-18 days. Females give up to 4-5 generations even under short day conditions. Usually in the Non-Chernozem zone during the growing season develops 8 - 12 generations. The most intensive reproduction of the spider mite occurs in May - June and July.

With a decrease in the length of daylight hours to 14-16 hours, ticks acquire a reddish color, which indicates their imminent departure for wintering. Wintering females appear in August. Sometimes in summer the population density drops, which, apparently, occurs in connection with the appearance of summer diapause in mites. Adult fertilized females overwinter on plant debris, under lumps of soil; in spring they lay eggs. The tick is carried on human clothing, with containers, agricultural implements.

Control measures. Steaming the soil to destroy the wintering stage. Combining and changing preparations for treatments in order to avoid getting used to them by the tick. Spraying seedlings 4-5 days before planting in a permanent place with 40% phosphamide (0.8-1.5 l / ha). After tomato garter, treatment with one of the preparations: 30% or 50% akrex, 20% keltan (chloroethanol), 50% karbofos. Treatment with colloidal gray (2 - 20 kg/ha) or ground (20 - 30 kg/ha). Stop using Acrex or Actellik 20 days before picking the fruit; karbofosa, kel tana - for 3 - 4 days (processing is carried out no more than 2 times per season); sulfur - for 1 day. In the fight against ticks, the biological method of fighting with the help of phytoseilus, gall midge, lacewing, encarsia (according to special recommendations) is widely used.

Nightshade miner fly. During the growing season in the greenhouse gives up to 5-7 generations. The flight of the fly in the greenhouses of the Non-Chernozem zone occurs in late February - early March. Insects lay their eggs in the tissue of young leaves from the upper side. The hatching larvae make winding, ribbon-like whitish passages in the tissues, in which their dark excrement accumulates. Affected leaves die off. The mining fly has acquired especially high harmfulness in recent years on tomato in winter and film greenhouses.

Control measures. Eradication spraying; || during the seedling period and during the growing season, treatment with 50% actellik (3 - 6 l / ha). Mandatory isolation of greenhouses from planting potatoes, which is also affected by the nightshade mining fly and can serve as a breeding ground for the pest.

Cleaning

Tomato crops are harvested by hand, mostly selectively every 3-5 days. Depending on the purpose of the crop, fruits are harvested in various degrees of ripeness, which are:

1. Full ripeness: tomatoes are processed or sold locally.

2. Blange ripeness (brown): tomatoes are harvested for transportation over a long distance.

3. Pink ripeness: carry out transportation and sale.

4. Green ripeness: the fruits are harvested before ripening (ripening), which is carried out in dry, ventilated and warm rooms at a temperature of 20-25 and a relative humidity of 70-80%. during ripening, fruits suitable for use are selected every 2-3 days and spoiled ones are removed. Faster ripening of fruits takes place in special chambers using acetylene, propylene, ethylene. Ripening of blanzhe fruits lasts 2-4 days, and green 5-6 days.

Storage conditions

Mature fruits, best of all small-chambered, small, are placed in one or two layers on racks, boxes in such a way that they do not damage one another with a stalk. They can be stored in dark, occasionally ventilated areas (ventilation is necessary, since the fruits consume oxygen for their breathing). The optimum storage temperature for ripe fruits is +4-6°C, relative air humidity is 80-90%. The latter condition allows you to reduce the evaporation of water by fruits to a minimum and protect them from drying out.

In this mode, the fruits are stored for 15-30 days. At lower temperatures (-(-1-3°C), the storage time can be extended to 40-50 days, but the quality of the fruits is sharply reduced, they become watery and tasteless. The shelf life of green fruits (reached biological maturity) can be extended to 50 -60 days Their storage temperature is above + 8-10 ° C. If it is lowered below + 4-6 ° C, then even when optimal conditions are created, the green fruits will no longer turn red.

Better and longer (2-3 months) are stored fruits sprinkled with sawdust or high-moor peat. During storage, they are periodically sorted out, removing ripe and diseased ones.

You can also store fruits together with plants, hanging them in a room where the temperature is maintained within + 12-14 ° C. In this case, the mass of fruits may even increase due to the outflow of nutrients from the stems and leaves.

Literature

1. Gavrish S.F. Tomatoes. 1987

2. Goranko I.B. Growing tomatoes in the protected ground of the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia. 1985

These include vegetables, which are eaten above-ground juicy fruits - families of nightshade, pumpkin, legumes, aster (artichoke), mallow (okra).

Tomato, pepper, eggplant, phyzales belong to the nightshade family, are heat-loving plants, therefore, in the middle climatic zones they are grown in seedlings in greenhouses or with temporary shelters.

The tomato belongs to the genus Lycopersicon Tourn of the family solanaceous(Solanaceae), which includes about 80 genera and 2 thousand plant species, distributed mainly in the tropical zone. This genus is divided into three species - Peruvian, hairy and ordinary tomato. The latter species combines almost all cultivated in Europe, as well as wild varieties.

Tomato is a perennial plant (but cultivated as an annual), heat- and light-loving. The plant is relatively drought-resistant, does not tolerate excessive soil moisture and high air humidity, but consumes a large amount of water. Fruits in both long and short days. The tomato is propagated by seeds and by rooting shoots and cuttings, but mainly by seeds. Seedlings appear in 5-7 days, and 50-70 days after the emergence of seedlings, the main varieties begin to appear first, then subsequent inflorescences. Fruit ripening begins 45-65 days after flowering. Fruiting can last until autumn frosts.

tomato roots

The root system of tomatoes has a diameter of 1.5–2.5 m, with a seedling culture, strongly branching, located mainly at a depth of 0.1–0.5 m. With a seedless culture, the main taproot and large lateral roots develop well, some of the roots (up to 5% of the mass of the roots) reach a depth of 0.8–1.5 m already 4–5 weeks after germination. In standard tomato varieties, the root system is more compact . Any part of the plant is able to form additional roots, especially on the main stem. Therefore, it is advisable to hill the tomato. Even cuttings, such as cut stepchildren, can take root.

tomato flowers

Tomato flowers are yellow, collected in simple or complex (branched) inflorescences, bisexual. Usually they have a five-membered yellow corolla about 1 cm in diameter and 5 narrow anthers (stamens) fused into a conical tube. There is a whisk inside it. The stamens have two-celled pollen sacs. They open with internal slits through which the pollen spills out and falls on the stigma of the pistil. For growing under glass, tomato varieties are preferred, in which the stigma of the pistil is in the tube - this contributes to pollination. There are even 15-membered corollas, from which multi-chamber ribbed large fruits are formed. Multi-chambered flowers are larger, multi-petalled, have more stamens, larger pistil. In varieties in which the stigma of the stamens protrudes above the cone of stamens or is on the same level with it, pollination occurs worse. In such varieties, pollination occurs better when the flowers are tilted down; in addition, they are more likely to cross-pollinate, especially in hot and windy weather.

In varieties with large multi-chambered fruits, flowers are larger, multi-petalled, and have correspondingly more stamens. Their pistil is wide, the stigma is multituberous, often located at the level of the cone of stamens. In the anthers of such flowers, there is a lot (30–60%) of sterile (non-viable) pollen, as a result of which some of the unfertilized ovaries fall off, and few seeded fruits develop from many ovaries, which are often deformed (ribbed).

The stigma is usually closed by its anthers; insects hardly visit the flowers. Therefore, self-pollination prevails in tomato (about 99.4%). Only in hot dry weather does the stigma move forward a little above the anther column, and then cross-pollination occurs. Violation in the development of pollen cells and mother cells from exposure to high temperatures (more than 35°C) is most pronounced in the period 8–9 days before flowering. Unpollinated flowers fall off, which often leads to a decrease in yield. The growth of the pollen tube, and therefore pollination, occurs best at 25°C and stops at 35°C, as well as 7°C.

Compound flowers have many sterile pollen grains in the anthers. Therefore, in large-fruited varieties with such flowers, pollination is often incomplete, some ovules are not fertilized, from which the fruits become deformed. Parthenocarpy (fruit formation without pollination) is extremely rare and often results in deformed fruits.

inflorescences.
Tomato flowers are collected in inflorescences, which are also called a brush. Inflorescences appear laterally through 2-6 leaves (internodes), in reference varieties they are placed one above the other, mainly on one side. Depending on the variety, four types of inflorescences are distinguished: the first type is a simple brush, when the axis of the inflorescence does not branch; the second - brush once branched; the third is a brush two-, three-fold branched; the fourth is a multi-branched brush. In varieties with a simple or slightly branched raceme, the inflorescence usually has four to twelve flowers. The inflorescence of the fourth type can have more than a hundred flowers. However, in such inflorescences many flowers fall off; the ripening of their fruits is extended: when the first fruits ripen, flowers are just opening at the end of the brush.

Bloom the first brush of tomato begins 50–60 days after germination and continues until frost. The flower blooms for 2-3 days, but already two days before opening it is capable of pollination. The second brush blooms 1.5-2 weeks after the first, the next - one week after the other.

tomato fruits

Tomato fruits - juicy berries, depending on the variety and growth conditions, are from 25 to 80 mm in diameter, smooth or ribbed, in shape - round, flat-round, oval, plum-shaped, round-cylindrical, elongated, pepper-shaped, pear-shaped. The weight of the fruit, depending on the variety, is from 20 to 1000 g (maximum when the number of ovaries in the hand is normalized to 2000 g). The size of the fruit depends not only on the variety, but also on the growing conditions: on fertile, moist soil, they are larger than on less fertile, insufficiently moist soil. Fruits up to 70 g are considered small, more than 100 g - large. According to the number of seed chambers, varieties are distinguished as small-chamber (2–5 chambers), medium-chamber and multi-chamber (10 or more chambers). More fleshy multi-chamber fruits, but they have fewer seeds.

The skin of the fruit is smooth, colorless or yellow. Due to the color of the pulp of a ripe fruit, they get a varietal color - from bright red to orange, raspberry, pink, yellow, and also dark red (almost black) in color. The content and ratio of coloring substances - chlorophyll, carotenoids (carotene, lycopene, xanthophyll) and anthocyanins. Carotene gives the fruits an orange (carrot) color, lycopene - orange-red, xanthophyll - yellow and anthocyanins (water-soluble cell sap pigments) - red and affect the color diversity of fruits. As the fruits ripen, the amount of chlorophyll (green pigment) decreases, and the content of carotenoids increases.

Ripen fruits begin an average of 65 days after setting: 30-40 days the fruit grows, ripens for 10-20 days, changing its green color to milky, brown (blange), pink (or lemon in yellow-fruited varieties) and, finally, varietal color. As a rule, the fruits closest to the trunk ripen 10–15 days earlier than the fruits at the end of the inflorescence.

Fruits make up about 57% of the total dry and 74% of the wet weight of the plant (Table 8.2). Moreover, varieties of non-red varieties accumulate, compared with red ones, one and a half times more carotenoids and a third - sugars (up to 7% or more). Therefore, such fruits are sweet and much healthier than red ones. The taste of the fruit (the ratio of the amount of sugar to the amount of acids in the pulp) depends not only on the variety, but also on the growing conditions. lack of light and heat, excess moisture in the soil and air, excess nitrogen fertilizers, the fruits become watery, less sweet, contain less sugar and vitamin C. Timely moderate watering of fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers increases the taste of the tomato.

tomato seeds

Seeds are small (about 200-350 pieces per 1 g, or 1000 pieces - 2.8-5 g), flattened, triangular-kidney-shaped, densely pubescent, grayish-yellow in color. They have dimensions in length and width of 2-3 mm, their thickness is 0.5-1 mm. Depending on the variety, from 20 to 300 seeds are formed in one fruit.

Tomatoes are usually propagated by seeds. In large-fruited varieties, 1 g contains 200-250 pieces, in small-fruited varieties - 300-350 pieces. To isolate the seeds from the surrounding gelatinous mass, the pulp is removed from the cut fruits and subjected to many days of fermentation. During subsequent drying, high temperatures (above 30°C) should be avoided, which may adversely affect seed quality (28-78). Germination of seeds is stored in an unheated room for 3-5 years. in dry heated - 7-9 years (in hermetic containers - more than 15 years).

The energy of seed germination depends on the degree of their maturity at the time of harvest, as well as on the period and method of their storage. During germination, the root first appears, then the cotyledon leaves unfold. The seed coat usually remains in the soil, however, if the seeds are underdeveloped or shallowly planted at sowing, then the peel remains at the ends of the cotyledons.

Leaves

Tomato leaves are alternate, of various types - ordinary, unpaired pinnately dissected, consist of lobes (segments), lobules, and small lobules. There are varieties (called potato-leaved) whose leaves consist only of large whole-edge lobes. The surface of the leaves is smooth, slightly wrinkled, tuberous-wavy, also medium or strongly corrugated. The edges of the leaf lobes are strongly dissected. Generally, determinant cultivars have less leaf surface area than indeterminate cultivars. The color of the leaves depends on the variety and growing conditions. In standard tomato varieties, the leaves are strongly corrugated with short petioles.

Stem and stepsons of tomatoes

According to the structure of the bush, standard and supporting (non-standard, requiring support) varieties of tomato are distinguished. In standard (bush) plants, the stem is thick and erect, the bushes are compact, varying in height from dwarf to undersized and less often medium-sized varieties. The supporting stem is thin, the leaves are large, slightly corrugated, the size of the bush is from short to tall, the stem lodging under the weight of the bush requires a garter.

The stem branches due to lateral shoots - stepchildren appearing from the axils of the leaves. By the nature of branching, there are determinant, or shorter children (self-limiting growth) low-growing varieties, up to 40-80 cm high, and indeterminate, or indetes (with a continuously growing stem) medium- and tall varieties of tomato, bush height up to 1.5-5 m . . Semi-determinant varieties occupy an intermediate position.

The tomato plant has a very high degree of regeneration- it is able to form a new growth point and shoots or roots developing from it anywhere. Stepchildren appear earlier and develop stronger, located directly under the inflorescence. After the removal of stepchildren (excessive shoots) from the leaf axils, new stepchildren may form in the same place, as well as from leaf blades and inflorescences.

Materials used: G. Selector "Healthy tomatoes"

Tomato, as a native of subtropical countries, is a culture demanding heat and light. Tomatoes are considered a relatively drought-resistant crop, however, during the flowering and fruit set period, the need for water is quite high. Tomato is less demanding on soil fertility than many other vegetable plants. However, if you create above-optimal growing conditions for tomatoes, they respond with a multiple increase in yield.

Temperature. Tomato seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 10 ... 12 ° (northern varieties at 8 ... 9 °). The optimum temperature for germination is 20...25°. Plant growth stops at 10°. At temperatures below 15 ° and above 35 °, tomato plants do not bloom, and at 10 °, growth stops, pollen does not ripen, the ovaries fall off.

Seedlings and young tomato plants can withstand quite a significant drop in temperature, down to 0 ... 0.5 °, germinating seeds until sprouts appear up to - 10 °. At a temperature of -0.5 °, flowers and fruits die, and at minus 1 °, the death of the entire plant may occur. Only some varieties can withstand frosts down to minus 3 o. Sharp drops in temperature from 25 ° and prolonged cooling retard the growth and development of plants, and also cause the flowers to fall off. The optimum temperature for the growth of adult tomato plants during the day is 22 ... 24 °, at night 16 ... 18 °.

Humidity. Tomato is a medium moisture demanding and relatively drought-resistant crop. However, it requires high soil moisture (approximately 70...80%), but at the same time relatively low air humidity of about 60%.

During the fruiting period, air humidity is needed in the range of 65 ... 70%. Changes in soil moisture impair the growth of the root system, the supply of nutrients to the plant, and lead to disease. Uneven moisture supply leads to cracking of fruits and falling of flowers.

Particular care must be taken to provide plants with air. With a lack of air in the soil, the seeds germinate slowly, the roots stop growing, and the normal nutrition process is disrupted. Such a requirement obliges the vegetable grower to use soil with a good cloddy structure for growing tomatoes (especially seedlings).

With insufficient moisture, there is an accelerated ripening of the set fruits with a massive fall of new flowers and ovaries. The plant, when stressed, strives to reproduce seeds while getting rid of the reproductive parts that compete in the consumption of nutrients.

If drought occurs at the stage of fruit growth, then this leads to the development of blossom end rot and almost complete loss of yield. Equally, troubles arise with excessive moisture, in which there is an excessive growth of leaves to the detriment of fruiting. High air humidity makes it difficult to fertilize flowers and creates conditions for plant diseases.

Light. Tomato is a demanding crop for light. The brighter and more intense the light, the faster the crop is formed. With a lack of lighting, the process of assimilation is sharply reduced, plant growth is weakened, and development is delayed. Long cloudy weather lengthens the period from flowering to fruit ripening by 10-15 days, worsens their taste and marketability. Most varieties of southern origin are short-day plants, while those of northern origin are day-neutral or long-day plants.

Soil and food. However, the best results are obtained by a tomato culture on well-warmed fertile soils, chernozems rich in organic matter and floodplains of rivers with a pH of about 6.0 (5.5 ... 6.5) that are not flooded or early released from hollow water. Good yields of tomato can also be obtained on sandy and loamy soils by applying the necessary fertilizers and keeping the soil loose.

Tomato responds well to both mineral and organic fertilizers. On cultivated soils, it can give a high yield when only mineral fertilizers are applied, and on infertile, low-humus soils, a combination of mineral and organic fertilizers is advisable. From organic fertilizers, humus, manure (preferably in autumn), peat-dung composts, slurry, and bird droppings are applied under the tomato.

Of the elements of mineral nutrition, the tomato consumes more potassium and nitrogen. However, it is very responsive to phosphate fertilizers, without which it is difficult to get a high yield and good fruit quality.

Tomatoes take a lot of nutrients out of the soil. In the initial period of the formation of the root system, the role of phosphorus is especially great. Therefore, at a young age, plants need the most fertilizing with phosphorus fertilizers. Subsequently, when the process of fruit formation begins, phosphorus together with potassium contribute to the acceleration of flowering, fruit ripening and increase the resistance of the plant to diseases.

Tomato consumes a lot of nitrogen for crop formation, while the need for it increases with the growth of leaves and stems and reaches a maximum during flowering and fruit formation. Tall varieties use comparatively more nitrogen than shorter ones. When providing plants with nitrogen, one should not forget that abundant nitrogen nutrition during leaf growth delays fruiting, contributes to the pampering of plants and their damage by diseases.

Tomato's need for potassium increases gradually (from the beginning of the formation of stems) and reaches a maximum during the period of increased fruit growth.

Lack of calcium leads to disease of plants with blossom end rot, in addition, the top of the stem dies off, the root system develops poorly. The need of plants for calcium should be covered by liming the soil (to a slightly acidic reaction).

On soils poor in organic matter, the tomato may lack magnesium.