Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook - 2022 - 126

SUGGESTED FERTIGATION SCHEDULE FOR TOMATO*
(high soil potassium)
Daily
Days after
planting
Preplant
0-14
15-28
29-42
43-56
57-77
78-98
nitrogen
Daily
potash
Cumulative
Nitrogen
(lb / A)
0.5
0.7
1.0
1.5
2.2
2.5
*Adjust based on tissue analysis.
Fresh Market. Yield, fruit size, and fruit quality of fresh market
tomatoes are increased by the use of black plastic mulch in combination
with drip irrigation. When air temperature exceed 85°F
use white on black plastic mulch, or paint black plastic with a
5:1 (v/v) mixture of exterior, flat white latex paint and water.
Form-raised, dome-shaped beds to aid in disease control. Lay
black plastic mulch tightly over the beds.
Grafting and Diseases. In recent years, grafted tomato plants
have emerged as a strategy to combat soilborne diseases, particularly
in heirloom varieties. Grafting is used against diseases
such as Bacterial wilt, Fusarium wilt, and Verticillium wilt.
Grafted plants are more expensive per transplant. For more
information, see the section Grafting in Vegetable Crops in this
handbook.
Greenhouse Tomatoes. While there are thousands of tomato
varieties on the market, only a few are suitable for growing in
greenhouses. If you plan on growing tomatoes to maturity in the
greenhouse, you need to select a greenhouse variety. This is because
these varieties have been bred specifically for greenhouse
conditions - lower light, higher humidity and temperature, etc.,
and have better disease resistance than field types. Nearly all
greenhouse varieties are indeterminate hybrids so that they will
yield over a long harvest season. While non-greenhouse types
would grow in the greenhouse, the yield and quality would be
reduced, and therefore they may not be profitable.
Variety selection is based on yield, fruit size, uniformity,
disease resistance, and lack of physiological disorders, as well as
the market demand for the type of tomato grown. For suggestions
on varieties, see the variety table in this section above. Insect
and disease control methods for greenhouse vegetables can
be found in Tables 2-29 and 3-45 (Insect and Diseases Control
sections), respectively. For further information on greenhouse tomato
production, see http://extension.msstate.edu/crops/commercial-horticulture/greenhouse-tomatoes
Ground
Culture. Space determinate varieties in rows 4 to 5 feet
apart with plants 18 to 24 inches apart in the row. For indeterminate
varieties, space rows 5 to 6 feet apart with plants 24 to 36
inches apart in the row.
Stake Culture. Staking tomatoes is a highly specialized produc126
0.5
0.7
1.0
1.5
2.2
2.5
50.0
57.0
66.8
80.8
101.8
148.0
200.5
125.0
132.0
141.8
155.8
176.5
223.0
275.5
Potash
tion
system. The following recommendations are for the shortstake
cultural system using determinate cultivars that grow 3 to 4
feet in height or for indeterminate varieties that grow 6 to 7 feet
in height. Use between row spacings of 5 to 6 feet with in-row
spacings of 18 to 24 inches. See state specific guides for a full
description of staking.
Pruning/Suckering: Pruning is practiced to establish a desired
balance between vine growth and fruit growth. Little to no pruning
results in a plant with a heavy load of smaller fruit. Moderate
pruning results in fewer fruits that are larger and easier to harvest.
Pruning can result in earlier maturity of the crown fruit and
improves spray coverage and pest control.
Removing all suckers up to the one immediately below the
first flower cluster is adequate for most determinate cultivars.
Removing the sucker immediately below the first flower cluster
or pruning above the first flower cluster can result in severe leaf
curling and stunting of the plant and should be avoided.
Prune when the suckers are no more than 2 to 4 inches long.
A second pruning may be required to remove suckers that are
too small to be easily removed during the first pruning and to
remove ground suckers that may develop. Pruning when suckers
are too large requires more time and can damage the plants, delay
maturity, and increase disease incidence. Do not prune plants
when they are wet to avoid spread of diseases. Pruning should
be done before the first stringing because the string can slow the
pruning process. Pruning is variety-and fertility-dependent.
Less-vigorous determinate cultivars generally require less
pruning. Growers should experiment with several degrees of
pruning on a small scale to determine pruning requirements for
specific cultivars and cultural practices.
Staking: Staking improves fruit quality by keeping plants and
fruit off the ground and providing better spray coverage. Staked
tomatoes are easier to harvest than ground tomatoes.
Staking tomatoes consists of a series of wooden stakes with
twine woven around the stakes to train the plants to grow vertically
off the ground. Stakes 4 to 4.5-feet long by 1-inch square
are driven about 12 inches into the soil between the plants.
Vigorous cultivars may require larger and longer stakes. A
stake placed between every other plant is adequate to support
most determinate varieties. Placing an additional stake at an
angle and tied to the end stake of each section will strengthen
the trellis system. Stakes can be driven by hand with a homemade
driving tool or with a commercially available, power-driven
stake driving tool. Drive stakes to a consistent depth so that
spray booms can be operated in the field without damaging the
trellis system.
Select " tomato twine " that is resistant to weathering and
stretching and that binds well to the wooden stakes. Tomato
twine is available in 3- to 4-pound boxes. Approximately 30
pounds of twine is required per acre. To make tying convenient,
use a homemade stringing tool. This tool can be made from a
length of metal conduit, schedule 40 PVC pipe, broom handle,
or wooden dowel. With conduit and PVC pipe, the string is fed
through the pipe. With a broom handle or wooden dowel, two
small parallel holes, each about 1 inch from the end, must be
drilled to feed the string through one hole along the length of the
2022 Vegetable Crop Handbook for Southeastern United States

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Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook - 2022

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