Indeterminate Tomato Production- General
Tomato does well in warm, frost free seasons. Optimum temperatures for growing are 20C to 25C, with minimum temperatures of 18C and maximum 30C.
Popular Indeterminate varieties are star 9030,Bonnada and Newton
A well managed Tomato crop should yield approximately 25 to 37.5 tons per Lima (5.8- 8.8kg /plant).
LAND PREPARATION/SOIL TYPE
Deep well drained loamy soils with a pH range from 5.5 to 7.5 is ideal for tomato.
Effective rooting depth is 60cm to 120cm.
Deep plough field, apply 1ton agricultural Lime/ha (except in alkaline soils) and harrow to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed.
Indeterminate Tomato varieties perform better when planted on 15cm high ridges.
PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING
Raise seedlings in nursery beds and transplant 4 to 5 weeks later.
Transplant during the cool part of the day (early morning or late afternoon) to avoid wilting of the plants.
Space the plants at 40cm between plants and 150cm between rows to give a plant population of 17,000 plants /hectare.
FERTILIZER PROGRAMME
At transplanting apply Super Veg Feed 25gm /plant – 3cm away from plant x 3cm deep.
Weekly- 3rd-6thweek after transplanting top dress using Veg Top 32 7.5gm/plant. 3cm away x 3cm deep.
Weekly- 7th-12thweek after transplanting top dress using Veg Top 32 5gm/plant. 3cm away x 3cm deep.
Weekly- 13th-14thweek after transplanting top dress using SuperVeg Feed 7. 5gm/plant. 3cm away x 3cm deep.
Weekly- 15th-26thweek after transplanting top dress using Veg Top32 5gm/plant. 3cm away x 3cm deep.
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Weeds compete with plants for nutrients and space; they can reduce yields by more than 25%. Keep the field free from weeds at all times.
Rebuild the beds during weeding to keep the field looking neat.
Scout the field for pest and diseases once weekly, spray at once upon noticing a disease or insect pest attack. American bollworm, Aphids, Leaf miner, Red spider mite and Pulcia looper.
