Tomato is a vegetable used the most after potato and onion. Tomato is used in all kinds of vegetables and is also the most eaten vegetable in the world. Besides vegetables, it is also used in salads and can be eaten. Tomato consumption is also considered very beneficial for the human body because many nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C are present inside tomatoes.
Tomatoes are also used for commercial purposes. Apart from vegetables and salads, tomatoes make a sauce (chutney). Therefore, you can earn a lot of money by doing business.
Although tomato farming can be done throughout the year, special attention has to be paid to it in the cold season because its crop gets damaged due to the frost falling in the winter season. Apart from this, special care has to be taken for many things like – standard temperature for tomato cultivation, and suitable soil (loamy soil) is required for tomato cultivation.
Suitable Soil
For tomato cultivation, it is necessary to have suitable soil with drainage. It can be easily cultivated in dirt other than loamy soil. But there must be a proper amount of nutrients in the ground and P.H.
It is not appropriate to do farming on such land where there is more water logging because, due to the water in such places, many types of diseases occur in the crop. Tomato plants are close to the ground; if the soil is waterlogged, their fruits also get spoiled. That’s why it is also necessary to have the right land. Moreover, Farmtrac 60 Powermaxx has amazing features which can easily work with paddy farming.
Climate & Temperature
Tomato cultivation does not require any special land or any special climate, and its cultivation can be done anywhere. But the dew falling in the winter season is harmful to its cultivation. Temperature is very important in tomato cultivation because for tomato seeds to germinate, generally, a temperature of 20 – 25 degrees is considered good for plant development.
Preparing Plants
Instead of growing tomato seeds directly in the field, they are prepared in the nursery. If the plants are of a common type, then 400 to 500 grams of seeds are needed per hectare, and if they are of a hybrid class. Prepare beds of appropriate size for growing seeds. Mix the seeds well in the treated soil, and rinse the prepared beds at the right time. After this, in about 25 to 30 days, tomato plants become eligible for planting. And they are planted in the field.
Before planting the plants in the beds, the beds are properly watered and wetted. So that the chances of spoilage of the plants can be reduced. Before planting the plants in the field, they should be treated with Carbendazim or Trichoderma solution for 20 to 25 minutes.
Seed Selection
Paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, San Marzano, yellow pear, Amish paste, a black creme, Cherokee green and Nepal tomatoes are some popular varieties. The paste or plum tomato is primarily preferred for its high flesh content and fewer seed compartments. Cherry tomatoes, however, are perfect for salads, pizza and pasta because they are delicious. So if you are looking for juicy tomatoes, cherry tomatoes are some of the best to grow.
Planting Stages
Take a large container and mix well-draining soil and compost in it. Pick the healthiest plant from the bunch and pinch off the plant’s lowest branches to promote healthy stems.
Gently loosen the root zone of the young plant and lift it along with some of the soil attached to the roots. Place the plant in a large container filled with potting soil and cover it with soil. But leave parts of the stem exposed. Also, the Mahindra 555 tractor is suitable for planting plants.
Water young plants immediately after transplanting and continue watering every two days to keep the topsoil moist.
Irrigation
It is considered proper to irrigate the field along with planting the plants in the area. However, until the plant sprouts, the moisture should remain in the field. Once the plants have sprouted, the destroyed plants should be thrown out.
If the crop is in the summer season, it should be given water between 3 to 4 days a week, and if the crop is in the winter season, it should be watered once a week so that moisture remains in it. When flowers emerge from the plant, keep the amount of water normal, so the flowers do not get spoiled. The water should be increased when the plant starts producing fruits, so the crop grows well.
Weed Control
Weeds are harmful to all crops, but if we talk about tomato crops, it becomes very important to control weeds because they cause more damage to them. This happens because the roots of tomatoes are not very deep, and all the plants take nutrients from the upper surface of the soil.
In such a situation, if weeds remain near the plants, they cannot take enough nutrients, their growth stops, and the yield decreases. That’s why tomato cultivation has to be protected more from weeds.
Harvesting
The tomato crop is ready for harvesting after 90 days of planting. While plucking the fruits, more red fruits are kept separately, and hard fruits are controlled independently so that the red fruits are sent to sell in the nearest market, and the hard fruits are sold in the distant market.
