Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) is the world's most valuable fruit and essential greenhouse crop. They deliver vital nutrients to our diets and serve as a pivotal model for plant biology research. Unfortunately, modern tomato varieties often lack the flavour that original or traditional cultivars boast. During the domestication and enhancement process, breeders prioritized traits like yield, [...]
Heating the nutrient solution of a NFT hydroponic system may sound like a lucrative option for early yields. Tampering with the nutrient solution temperature is expensive and return on investment low. It is as if the protected environment provides growers endless possibilities to manipulate the growth season of their crops. Unfortunately nature does not work [...]
The ripening stage when tomato fruit are harvested will depend on the variety, the market segment (do they want red full ripe tomatoes or does the consumer want the tomato to ripen at home) and market distance. In most cases, tomatoes are harvested just after some red discolouration has set in. The grower knows (and [...]
The concentration of manganese (Mn) can vary significantly in re-circulating nutrient solutions. Crop uptake of manganese cannot be explained to this high variation and the only explanation is manganese oxidising bacteria or variation of pH of the nutrient solution. It is actually a combination of both manganese oxidising bacteria and solution pH. Manganese availability to [...]
Heating the nutrient solution in order to increase growth rate can provide growers an edge over competitors. This applies to all business categories. Heating up the nutrient solution can be complicated and expensive and that is where the competitive edge is. Not every grower has the ability to implement the technology effectively. Heating the root zone [...]
The ammonium/nitrate ratio in the nutrient solution is important since it can have a significant effect on the quality and total yields of the tomato crop. Both NO3- and NH4+ are the most important sources of nitrogen in the plant. The ammonium/nitrate ratio has only become critical, and a problem, since growing without soil became commercially [...]
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 sensitive to water stress (too little water) and to water logging (over watering). They are not as sensitive as peppers or cucumbers. Water stress or water logging will reduce plant [...]
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 tomato plant be pruned in order to obtain maximum yields. Pruning tomatoes ensures that the energy is used in developing fruit and the main stem. The pruning and trellising (also [...]
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, the advantages far outweigh disadvantages. Trellising tomato plants has the following advantages: It increases yield per square meter Reduces the risk of disease development Improves ventilation between plants Allows for [...]
