How To Accelerate The Ripening Of Tomatoes And Protect Them From Late Blight

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The earliest tomato varieties in our area ripen in early August. To accelerate their ripening, remove stepsons, pinch the tops of fruiting shoots, cut off late flower brushes, from which the fruits will not have time to form anyway. Provide plants with reliable sunlight.

Usually, vegetable growers do not wait for the tomatoes to turn completely red, but harvest them at blanche ripeness along with the stalk. Carefully place them in boxes in two or three layers and ripen in a room with a temperature of + 20 … + 25 ° С. The fruits are of a fairly high quality. The tomatoes remaining on the bushes continue to grow and ripen faster. Late varieties of tomatoes can be pulled out by the roots and the bushes can be hung in the attic, in a warm ventilated area.

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In August, tomatoes, like potatoes, are most at risk - late blight disease, as at this time there are sharp daily fluctuations in air temperature, accompanied by dew and fog. The development of late blight is facilitated by thickened plantings. The causative agent of the disease is transmitted by rain, irrigation water, wind. The source of infection is plant residues of potatoes and tomatoes.

With late blight disease, the leaves turn dark brown, the stems brown, and dirty, vague, hard spots appear on the fruits. On the underside of the leaf, the spots are bordered with whitish and spiderweb bloom (fungus sporulation). Sometimes, concentric circles appear on the fruit with alternating dark brown and yellow stripes, rings with edging, depressed oily spots. Phytophthora in 3-4 days can destroy the entire crop. To prevent the appearance of late blight, take preventive measures even before the appearance of external signs of the disease. Start in early August.

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Late blight control measures

Isolate planting tomatoes from potatoes. Dig deep into the soil. Before planting, treat the seeds with a 10% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, followed by rinsing in water. Spray the plants with infusion of garlic during fruit setting every 15-18 days, up to 5 times. At the first signs of disease of single fruits, spray with a solution of sodium chloride. A thin film of salt protects against pathogen penetration.

Spray with Bordeaux liquid (10 g per 10 L of water), copper sulfate solution (20 g per 10 L of water), polycarbacin (40 g), copper chloride (40 g) with the addition of one tablespoon of washing powder so that the solution better adheres to the leaves … Repeat the treatments every 10-12 days. Spray a little and try in small drops to keep the solution from dripping off the leaves and stems.

If late blight has captured most of the plants, urgently remove all formed green fruits, heat them at 40 ° C for four hours in the oven, or immerse the tomatoes in hot water with a temperature of no more than 60 ° C for two minutes. If the fruits are not warmed up, even healthy-looking fruits can get sick in 3-4 days. After processing, the leaves may fall off, which also accelerates the ripening of the fruit.

To prevent late blight disease from recurring, tomatoes should not be planted in one area more often than after 3-4 years.