Experienced tomato growers may be aware of some common diseases among their crops, such as septicemia, early contamination, and late onset. But this year, horticulturist Vijaya Pandian has been asking a lot of questions about unusual tomato plants.
“Most of the questions are related to normal stress,” says Pandian, who covers the districts of Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Rassin. These include extreme heat and drought conditions, he said, adding that pandy can cause all sorts of abnormalities, such as pollen and twisted, twisted and colored leaves.
But perhaps the biggest change producers are noticing is generally low fruit production.
Pandian is suspected of extreme heat and drought, particularly in southeastern Wisconsin, affecting flowering. Tomatoes prefer temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius, he said.
“If the temperature rises to 85 degrees Fahrenheit[85 ° C]or higher, they will stop producing flowers,” says Pandian.
In addition, existing flowers should be contaminated within 50 hours. But if the temperature continues to rise to 85 or 90 degrees during that time, that will only aggravate the problem.
“The pollen is very sticky and spoils the appearance of tomato seeds,” he said.
So, what to do?
Mother Pandian, who is short on fighting nature, has made some changes to create a better environment for tomatoes next year.
In particular, the United Nations recently estimated that climate change, which has been a recurring theme for more than a decade, could help turn pandas into more heat-resistant and drought-tolerant tomato varieties.
Second, Pandian advises care when spraying steam plants, which grow and can easily slip on a tomato plant. He said it is best to avoid spraying herbicides, especially if the temperature is at least 85 degrees Fahrenheit[85 ° C]. Weed pesticides can be more powerful at hot temperatures and can cause more damage to plants.
He said check your lawn fertilizer for weeds before spraying pandia.
Finally, he said, it may be helpful to harvest tomatoes with straw, grass, or fertilizer.
“Tomatoes are really cool, they like wet conditions, so dressing helps to keep the soil moist and provide a good temperature for the root system,” he said.
Pine needles work just as well as any other organic matter.
“The whole purpose of harvesting these kinds of organic products … is to add and incorporate organic matter into the soil,” he said. And this organic matter really helps to build your soil structure.
This article was republished with the permission of the Wisconsin Public Radio