Tomato Cultivation Guide 2018

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About the author View All Posts amar sawant Amar Sawant is an entrepreneur, farmer, and writer. He works more than ten
years as agri-entrepreneur. Always busy in farm to find something new.
September 28, 2018

Tomato is grown practically in every country of the world in outdoor fields, greenhouses,
and net houses. The leading tomato producing countries in the world are China, India, USA,
Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Italy, Spain, and Brazil.

It occupies an area of about 4.73 million hectares with a production of 163.96 million
tonnes in the world (FAO, 2016). It is the world’s 3rd largest vegetable crop after potato
and onion

Tomato is the most widely cultivated crop in India. Tomato is a very important vegetable
crop regarding both income and nutrition. Tomatoes are predominantly summer crops, but
it can be cultivated throughout the year.

In its fruit contain vitamins like ‘A’ and ‘C’ and antioxidant in abundance quantity. Due to the
unique properties contained in its fruit, tomato demand remains almost the same
throughout the year.

Tomatoes are also used as fresh fruits, and they are cooked and cooked in pickles,
chutneys, soups, ketchup, sauces, etc.

Table of Contents

Climate
Land
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 Nursery making for T0mato cultivation
Advanced varieties
Improved Verity:
Hybrids Verity:
Transplanting :
Fertilizers and manure
Supporting Tomato plants (staking)
Irrigation for Tomato Crop
Weed control
Harvesting
Production:
Crop protection
Pest
1) Fruit Borer: – ((Helicoverpa armigera Hubner)
2 ) Whiteflies –
3) Leafminer
4) Root-knot Nematodes
Disease
1) Alternaria Blight
2) powdery mildew
3) Late Blight
4) Leaf Curl Complex

Climate
The tomato is warm season crop. The temperature of 20-25 °C is considered to be ideal for
tomato cultivation, and the excellent quality red color is developed in tomatoes at 21-24 °C
temperature.

Due to intense heat (temperature above 43 °C), the plants get burnt, and flowers and small
fruits also fall, whereas less than 13°C and greater than 35 °C decreases the fruits and the
red color production ratio.

Land
Tomato grows very well on a wide range of soils, but it grows well on deep, well-drained
soils with good drainage ability. Sandy loam to medium black soils is considered to be best
suitable for Tomato cultivation.

For Tomato farming soil PH must be at 6-7 with soil with excellent drainage property.

Nursery making for T0mato cultivation

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Seedlings are raised during May-June, September October and December-January months
for kharif, rabi and summer crops, respectively.

Before preparing a nursery, select the land destroyed in harmful bacteria and fungi and
larvae of pests etc.

Prepare the 3 -4 meter long and 120 cm in width raised the bed and about 15 cm in height.

Mark the lines on the bed and sow the seeds in it and cover with loose soil.

Subsequently, sprinkle the water and cover the beds with organic mulch paddy straw or
green leaves and kept, as its until the seeds germinate.

Generally, Seedlings are ready for transplanting within 30 to 45 days under open field
condition Irrigate the nursery as and when required.

When nursery raising in the open field is not possible, then it can be raised in naturally
ventilated polyhouses that too within 25 to 30 days.
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Advanced varieties

Improved Verity:
Pusa Ruby, Pusa- 120, Pusa shital, Pusa Gaurav, Pusa Early Dwarf, Arka Saurabh,Arka Ahuti
,Arka Vikas,Arka Meghali, HS101, HS102, HS110,Hisar Arun,Hisar Lalit, Hisar Lalima, Hisar
Anmol,Co-1, CO 2, CO 3, S-12,PKM 1,Punjab Chhuhara,Pant Bahar, Pant T3 and Solan Gola

Hybrids Verity:
Pusa Hybrid 1, Pusa Hybrid 2, Pusa Hybrid 3 , Arka Abhijit, Arka Vishal, Arka Shresta, Arka
Vardan, Vaishali, COTH 1 Hybrid Tomato, Rashmi, MTH 4, Naveen, Rupali, Avinash 2,
Sadabahar, Sonali and Gulmohar.

Transplanting :
Before transplanting plant in the felid treat with a fungicide like bavistin and humic acid.

If transplanting is done in the rainy season then maintain spacing 75 x 60 cm and summer
season, 75 x 45 cm.

If you are using drip irrigation method for tomato crop, then transplanting is to be done in
paired row system with the spacing of 50 cm x 50 cm.

Fertilizers and manure

At the time of land preparation, broadcast and thoroughly mix the well-decomposed FYM at
20 to 25 t/ha in the soil

Then add a basal fertilizer dose Nitrogen – 60 kg, Phosphorus – 80 kg and Potash -60 kg
Potash per hectare.

After 30 to 45 days of planting, give 30 kg amount of nitrogen to the crop.

Supporting Tomato plants (staking)

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The long growing varieties of tomatoes need to be specially supported. At the time of plant
growth, plants should be staking with the help of string or wire.

With the help of this support, fruits cannot expose to soil and water; hence there is no
problem of tomato fruit rotting so that more production can be obtained.

Irrigation for Tomato Crop

To get maximum yield from tomato crop, use drip irrigation method. During summer give
water 6-7-day intervals and in winter season give water after of 10-15 days.

If possible, use drip irrigation. With the help of this irrigation method, you can able to save
about 60-70 percent of the water and increase 20%-25% more production.

Weed control
First weeding operation star after 20 to 25 days of transplanting. Always maintain clean
and weed free farm because weed competes with crop also they provide shelter to the
various harmful insect.

Mulching is also good option control weed after black plastic (50 microns) mulching is
mostly used which controls about 95% weeds.

Alternatively, you can use organic mulch like sugar cane trash, which controls about 60% of
weeds.

Harvesting

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The first harvesting of plants usually starts in 75 to 90 days from planting.
While Considering the market distance and transport mode, tomato fruits should be
harvest as follows.

1) Green stage:
If you are sending tomato fruit for long distant market, then harvest at Maturity stage with
green colour .

2) pink stage:
The tomato should be harvested by changing the color of the green color to the pinkish
appeared. It is better to send such fruits to nearby markets.

3) Maturity stage:
To sell tomato in the local market, harvest after the fruit is reddish on the tree.

4) Full maturity:
In this state, the fruit is fully reddish and slightly red on the tree. Such fruits are useful to
make durable materials such as ketchup, sauce, soup, chutney, etc.

After removing the fruit, grading the fruit, packing it in the corrugated boxes.

Production:
The average hectare production of tomatoes is 250 to 400 quintal. The production of up to
750-800 quintals of hectare can be achieved due to excellent cultivation.

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Crop protection

Pest

1) Fruit Borer: – ((Helicoverpa armigera Hubner)

Female kite lay eggs on flowers. After leaving

the egg, the larvae start to eat leaves. After
that, they start to eaten fruit. The larvae put
holes in the fruit and put half of the body in the
fruit. This pest could damage 40%-50%of
fruits production

Management

Marigold as a trap crop with the help of

this trap early pest attack detection is possible which is very helpful for the Effective
management
sprays of Ha NPV viruses after 42 days of transplanting.
At periodic intervals (3-4 times) mechanical collection and destruction of Fruit Borer

2 ) Whiteflies –
Whitefly is a very harmful pest on tomato; it is responsible for transmits leaf curl virus.
It sucks food form leave, so deformation of young leaves observes. Whiteflies also excrete
honeydew, causing sooty mold.

Management

use yellow stick trap for early attack detection

After transplanting give need-based sprays of Imidacloprid 20 SL (0.3ml/l) after 15
days of planting and do not repeat after the fruiting stage as this may leave harmful
residues in fruits.
If the traps indicate the whitefly activity, spray Dimethoate 30EC at 2ml/liter

3) Leafminer

It is a serious and a polyphagous pest

of the tomato crop. Maggot ( larva)
form mines between two epidermal
layers of the leaf and make serpentine
mines. Extensive leaf mining activity
reduces the photosynthetic process of
plants, resulting in defoliation and
produce unmarketable fruits.

Management

observe and remove infected leaves at the time of planting or within a week of
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 transplanting
Apply neem cake in the field 250 kg/ha at planting and repeat this operation after 25
days.
Spray neem seed powder extract 4%
if the incidence is high, then remove infected leaves and spray Triazophos 40 EC
(1ml)

4) Root-knot Nematodes
This affects the uptake capacity of nutrition and water of the plants. This causes stunted
plants with yellow foliage resulting in yield reduction.

Management

Use nematode resistant variety

Follow crop rotation with marigold crop
use seed treatment
if possible soil carried out soil solarisation process.
Apply Carbofuran 3G at 1 kg ai/ha at transplanting.

Disease

1) Alternaria Blight

Symptoms
Irregular leaf spots mostly appear from the marginal portion of leaves. Mostly these
disease appears in the vegetative growth phase of the plant and before flowering.
Symptoms of early blight appear on all above ground parts of the plant

Management

Always use healthy and certified seeds collected from the disease-free area.
Infected crop debris and fruits must be collected from the field and burnt.
Summer plowing to increase the desiccation of pathogen and infected plant parts.
Minimize relative humidity in plant canopy for preventing the infection.
sprays of Chlorothalonil at 0.2% at 8 days interval
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2) powdery mildew

powdery mildew infection appeared as white, chalky spots on leaves. They spread rapidly
on infected leaves. The leaves turned yellow, died and drop off.

Management

If the disease occurs, then 0.25% sulphur mixed with water spray 25 gm in 10 liters of
water 2-3 times in intervals in 10 days.
To control it, spray 10 grams of Bavistin mixed in 10 liters of water

3) Late Blight
Disease on leaves, appear as pale green irregular spots that turn into purplish brown and
later become nearly black. Margins of the spots were pale green to water soaked.

Infected fruits showed characteristic brown to purple discoloration, often concentrated on

the sides or upper fruit surface

Management:

Use and planting material from the disease-free area.

maintain field Sanitation.
Staking of plants which reduce Fruit touches chance to the ground
In cloudy condition take Preventive sprays of Mancozeb 75% WP at 0.25% (2.5 gm
per liter water) take this spray after 5 to 7 days interval.

4) Leaf Curl Complex

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Virus-transmitted by whitefly as well
as by mechanical injury. this Disease
mostly appears in September to
November month. Plants show
stunted growth with downward
rolling, curling, twisting and chlorosis
leaves

Management:

maintain field Sanitation don’t

all to grow weeds.
Use of yellow sticky cards to
evacuate whitefly attack
Spray Dimethoate 30% EC at 396 ml in 200-400 l of water/acre
Spray Imidacloprid 17.8 SL at 60-70 ml in 200 l of water/acre or Thiamethoxam 25
WG at 80 g in 200 l of water/acre.

5) Damping-off

In pre-emergence phage, the young seedlings die before they reach the surface of the soil
and post-emergence Infection usually occurs near to the soil level and the infected plant
tissues appear soft and water-soaked.

As the disease In advances stage the stems become weak and collapse.

Management:

Avoid poorly drained soil for tomato cultivation

Use raised beds technique for better water drainage alsouse plastic -trays for raising
seedlings
Seed treated with captan 75% WP at 20-30 g/Kg seed
Drench solution of Metalxyl 8% and Mancozeb 64% WP at 2 g/ liter of water in the
nursery.

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