Tomato cultivation technology, how to grow tomatoes

If you want to get a certain high yield of tomatoes, you must work hard on the cultivation technology. So let me tell you how to better cultivate tomatoes?

(1) Cultivation season:

Tomatoes for export and processing are mostly grown in the open field. Tomatoes are warm-loving but not heat-resistant and frost-resistant vegetables, and are suitable for planting in the frost-free period when the daily average temperature is above 15°C.

my country has a vast territory, and the climate in the north and south is very different. Open-field tomatoes are generally planted in southern China, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, etc., and there is no frost all year round. However, there are many rainy days, insufficient sunlight, high humidity, and serious diseases in spring; the weather is hot and rainy in summer, and there are often typhoons. Only in autumn and winter, the weather is clear, the sunlight is sufficient, the rain is less, and the climate is warm, which is most suitable for planting. Generally, sowing is done in August-September, transplanting is done in September-October, and harvesting begins in mid-November until the seedlings are pulled in late February of the following year. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the frost-free period is very long, and two crops can be harvested in a year. The spring crop is generally sown and seedlings are raised in November-December, and transplanted in mid-to-late March of the following year, harvested in mid-to-late May, and pulled in mid-to-late July; the autumn crop is seeded or sown in July-August, planted from August to early September, harvested in early October, and pulled in late November. In the cold regions of Northeast China, Northwest China and northern North China, the frost-free period is short, and only one crop is planted a year. Seeding and raising seedlings are carried out in March and April or direct seeding is carried out in May, harvesting is carried out in July and September, and the seedlings are pulled out before the early frost. Tomatoes for processing are mostly cultivated without supports. In southern North China, such as Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, etc., where the frost-free period is longer, two crops can be planted a year, spring tomatoes and autumn tomatoes, and spring-sown tomatoes are the main crops. Due to the high temperature and heavy rain in summer, it is difficult for tomatoes to survive the summer. Spring-sown tomatoes are generally raised in advance in January and February, planted in late April to early May, harvested in late June, and pulled out in early August.

In recent years, in the Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan plateaus and the southern hilly and mountainous areas, the summer climate is mild, with the highest monthly average temperature below 25℃, so tomatoes can be cultivated in summer. Seedlings are raised in early to mid-May and harvested from August to October. The yield is high and the quality is good, which plays an important role in earning foreign exchange for tomato exports.

(2) Open-field cultivation technology of spring tomatoes

① Seedling raising technology: Cultivating strong seedlings is one of the key measures for tomato cultivation. The standard for strong seedlings is thick stems, short internodes, large and thick leaves, dark green leaves, and many strong roots. Each place has its own seedling raising method suitable for local conditions. Now, the more common large and small sheds in the Yangtze River Basin with multi-layer coverage, the winter and spring early-maturing tomato seedling raising method is introduced as follows:

Sowing: The seedling raising time of early-maturing tomatoes in the open field in spring varies from place to place. In principle, they should be planted as soon as possible after the late frost in the open field. The seedling age of tomato seedlings is 60-70 days in cold beds and 45-50 days in electric hotbeds. According to this principle, different places have different sowing periods. In the Yangtze River Basin, it can generally be from late December to early January. Preparations for seedling raising should be made before September. Use garden soil or paddy field soil that has not been planted with Solanaceae crops for more than 3 years, add fully decomposed organic fertilizers such as pig and chicken manure or harmless garbage with good fertility and rice husk ash in a ratio of 5:3:2, crush and mix, sieve, and make "cultivation soil". Build a greenhouse in early October, level the seedbed in the greenhouse, and cover it with 5cm thick cultivation soil. Before sowing, fill the seedbed with enough water and spread a thin layer of dry fine soil evenly. The sowing amount is generally 5-8g/m2 of the bed surface. Seed disinfection: Soak the seeds in 50℃ warm water for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, and then continue soaking for 3-4 hours. When the seeds are not slippery when touched by hand, cover them with wet gauze and germinate them at 25-30℃. Sow them when 2/3 of the seeds are white, or rinse them clean, do not germinate, dry them and sow them directly. Sow the seeds evenly on the bed or in rows, cover them with 0.5-1cm fine soil, press them down slightly, cover them with mulch, maintain humidity, increase ground temperature, and accelerate germination.

Seedbed management: Before germination, keep the daytime temperature in the shed above 25℃ and the nighttime temperature above 18℃, and the seedlings will emerge in 4-6 days. After germination, remove the mulch in time, cover the shed, maintain 20-25℃ during the day and 10-15℃ at night. When it exceeds 28℃, timely ventilation and cooling should be carried out to prevent the seedlings from growing too long. Timely discover, identify and remove false hybrid seedlings and mechanical mixed seedlings. When there are 2-3 true leaves, transplant the seedlings into the pot once. The diameter of the nutrient pot is 8-10cm, which is better, and it is pre-filled with nutrient soil. Maintain 20~25℃ during the day and 10~15℃ at night in the shed to keep the seedbed moist and fertile. If there is a tendency of leggy growth. In addition to timely ventilation and cooling, 20mg/L paclobutrazol solution can be sprayed for control. In order to cultivate strong seedlings, the temperature and humidity should be appropriately lowered before planting to improve the resistance of seedlings to adversity.

② Land preparation, fertilization and planting:

When choosing a plot for planting tomatoes, avoid continuous cropping of tomatoes. There should be at least a 2-3 year interval between tomatoes, eggplants, hot (sweet) peppers and other Solanaceae crops. This can maintain soil fertility and reduce diseases. The best crops before tomatoes are onions, garlic, beans and melon vegetables, followed by cabbage, kale, spinach, celery and other green leafy vegetables. Rotation with rice is better.

After the previous crop is harvested, the tomato field should be deep-turned and winter-dried, and the ridges should be raked and leveled in spring. The high ridges are usually 1.3-1.7m wide (including furrows), with furrows 0.3-0.5m wide and 0.2m deep. The ridges should be oriented north-south so that the plants can receive even sunlight.

Tomatoes are high-yield vegetables that are harvested multiple times, and require a lot of fertilizers throughout the growth period. The general principle of fertilization is to focus on basal fertilizer. The basal fertilizer is mainly farmyard manure, with additional application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. There are many types of farmyard manure, and the order of their advantages and disadvantages is: chicken and duck manure, sheep and rabbit manure, horse manure, and cow manure. Human feces and urine need to be applied in combination with other fertilizers. No matter what kind of farmyard manure, it must be fully fermented and decomposed, and raw manure cannot be applied to avoid burning the roots and infection with pests and diseases. The application method of high-bed cultivation is generally to dig a ditch in the center of the ridge, apply 2000-3000kg of high-quality decomposed manure and 200kg of wood ash per 667m2, and mix them fully with the soil, then level it, dig planting trenches on both sides of the high ridge, and then apply 200kg of high-quality farmyard manure or 20-25kg of compound fertilizer in the trench. The amount of basal fertilizer applied must be able to meet the needs of tomato growth.

Tomatoes should be planted after the local frost has stopped and the temperature of the 5-10cm soil layer is stable at 12℃. In the Yangtze River Basin and the areas south of it, they can be planted around Qingming Festival. If there is no late frost damage in the local area, planting early can make tomatoes mature early and produce high yields. Try to choose a windless and sunny day for planting tomatoes, so that you can make full use of sunlight to increase the soil temperature of the planting bed and make the seedlings resume growth quickly. Never plant seedlings on rainy days or when the ground is still muddy after rain, because the soil sticks to the roots and is not easy to disperse, which is not conducive to root growth and seedling growth.

The planting density of tomatoes should be determined according to the selected variety and the presence or absence of cultivation supports. Generally, early-maturing varieties should be planted denser on small frames, with 5,000 to 6,000 plants per 667m2, and medium and late-maturing varieties should be planted on large frames, with 3,500 to 4,000 plants per 667m2. Without supports, 2,800 to 3,200 plants should be planted per 667m2.

At present, mulch film cultivation has been widely adopted in production. When transplanting, the seedlings should not be planted too deep or too shallow. Water them in time after planting. The broken parts of the mulch film should be pressed tightly with soil around the seedlings.

③ Field management techniques after planting

The first is the management from planting to the beginning of flowering and fruiting: from planting to the beginning of flowering and fruiting of the first bunch of fruit. The management focus of this stage is to increase the ground temperature, promote seedling acclimatization, properly control vegetative growth, regulate the relationship between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, and make vegetative growth turn into reproductive growth in time.

After planting, water the plants until the first ear of fruit swells. Generally, no watering is done. Intertillage is done 2 to 3 times to loosen the soil, increase ground temperature, promote seedling growth, strengthen root development, and slow down the seedlings. If there is drought and the soil moisture is poor, and the plants wilt in the afternoon, water them before or after the first inflorescence opens, but do not water them during the flowering period to avoid falling flowers and fruits.

(3) Key points of open-field cultivation technology for autumn tomatoes

During the growing period of autumn tomatoes, the temperature changes from high to low, the growing period is short, the disease is serious, the cultivation technology is difficult, the yield is unstable, and they are rarely cultivated for export.

To grow autumn tomatoes well, first of all, we need to choose varieties suitable for autumn planting. The varieties should be disease-resistant, especially resistant to viral diseases, and should be early-maturing, with fast fruit growth and color change. Currently, Hongza 12, 14, 16, 18 and simple brackets, Zhejiang No. 1, etc. can be selected. Secondly, we need to choose a suitable sowing period. The climatic conditions in different places are different, and the suitable sowing period is also different. The Yangtze River Basin is generally from mid-to-late July to early August, with seedlings of 25 to 30 days old and 4 to 5 true leaves. The planting density is 4500 to 5000 plants per 667m2, and each plant is left with 2 to 3 ears of fruit and then pinched. After planting, pay attention to maintaining soil moisture and lowering soil temperature. If the cultivation bed is covered with rice straw, wheat straw or intercropped with tall crops such as corn or rack beans, the effect of lowering soil temperature can be achieved.

The topdressing of autumn tomatoes is generally carried out 2 to 3 times. The first time is after the first bunch of fruits set, and 15 to 20 kg of compound fertilizer is applied per mu. The second time is after the second bunch of fruits set, and the amount of fertilizer is the same as the first time. If the leaves of the plants turn yellow in the later stage and it is obvious that there is a lack of fertilizer, you can apply fertilizer again.

Before autumn tomatoes bloom and set fruit, pay attention to controlling watering and tilling the soil more often. Prevent excessive growth due to excessive water and fertilizer and high temperature. Plant racks, tie seedlings, and prune branches in time. If there is drought after fruit setting, water in time, and increase the amount of water during the fruit expansion period. When the temperature drops in the later period, the number of watering and the amount of watering can be reduced. If there is a lot of rain, drain the water in time to prevent waterlogging, which can easily cause diseases.

If the temperature drops sharply in the later stages of autumn tomato growth, you can cover them with a film to protect them from the cold.

(4) Key points of winter tomato open-field cultivation technology

Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Taiwan and southern Yunnan in my country have warm winters, with monthly average temperatures above 15°C and no frost all year round, which is more suitable for tomato growth. Especially in winter, there is plenty of sunshine, a large temperature difference between day and night, and little rainfall, so the yield and quality of tomatoes exceed those of spring tomatoes. Key points of winter tomato open-field cultivation technology: First, it is necessary to choose suitable and excellent varieties. Try to choose imported tomatoes. Second, adopt seedling transplanting. When raising seedlings, it is necessary to build a shed to shade and prevent rain. Pay attention to frequent watering during the seedling stage, cool down and keep moist to plant young seedlings. Third, after planting, in addition to carrying out field management on time and carefully, it is also necessary to check the occurrence of diseases and insect pests at any time and prevent and control them as soon as possible, especially to prevent and control bacterial wilt in time.