Cat-face tomato fruit – genetic physiological disorder
Cat-face tomato fruit Symptoms Fruits have a long scar at the blossom end that extends inwards and renders the fruit unmarketable and disfigured (abnormal). There are...
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Hollow fruit disorder in hydroponic greenhouse systems
Hollow fruit description Hollow fruit, also called puffy fruit or boxy fruit are angular in shape instead of round, however one should be careful since some...
Tomato fertigation in hydroponic greenhouses
Tomato fertigation is a complex subject in hydroponics. It is climate sensitive and everybody has an opinion of what works. The point is, tomatoes are...
Pruning tomatoes – a simple neglected task
Pruning tomatoes is an essential activity during the maintenance of the tomato crop. Just as the plants should be trellised every week, so should each...
Trellising tomato plants in a greenhouse
Trellising tomato plants is only required when growing indeterminate types in greenhouses. Although trellising tomato plants it is labour intensive and must be done weekly,...
Zippering – Physiological disorder of tomato and pepper fruit
Zippering symptoms Zippering are thin scars running from the top of the shoulder of the fruit down the length to the blossom end. These longitudinal...
Tomato types available for the commercial grower
Tomatoes originated in tropical America. Tomatoes were first exported from Peru to Italy, then to Northern Europe and finally to the USA by 1781. In...
Blossom drop – A sure sign of stress in hydroponic greenhouses
Blossom drop Symptoms Blossom drop (flower buds abscise) occurs prior to anthesis under stress conditions. The early indications of blossom drop are the yellowing of the...
Blossom-end-rot – most common physiological disorder in vegetable fruit
Blossom-end-rot (BER) Symptoms This physiological disorder looks like a typical fruit disease. The symptoms generally occur at the blossom-end of the fruit and begins with...
Sunscald or sun burn on vegetable fruit – sun damage that can be prevented
Sunscald or sunburn causes Sunscald may appear on foliage and fruits. The disorder is caused when the temperature of the fruit exceeds 40°C. An imbalance...
Thin spindly sick pale plants – it’s causes and solutions
At some stage a grower will see thin spindly pale plants growing somewhere in the greenhouse. Although not a physiological disorder of fruit, it is...
Small fruit in crops grown in greenhouses is a sign of stress
Getting small fruit (peppers or tomatoes) is better than getting no fruit at all. However it can be frustrating when growing to achieve 140 g...
Common pest and disease control for peppers
Good pest and disease control in hydroponic systems is crucial for a successful hydroponic farm. Soon after the plants have been transplanted, pest and diseases...
Fertigation of hydroponic peppers
Fertigation of peppers is sometimes more of an art than science since plant requirements change as the weather/climate change. Learn how to read your plants...
Ideal temperature and humidity regime for greenhouse crops
Temperature and humidity regime for peppers. Temperature and humidity go hand in hand. Quite often increasing the one has an effect of the other. So...
