For those who grow tomatoes off-season, the price is much higher if they arrive on the market early. Therefore, many tomato growers want to achieve a quick and healthy color change. However, many growers struggle to keep up with this trend. Their tomatoes not only change color slowly but also crack easily later in the season. What can be done?
Tomato coloring issues are primarily related to the root system, soil environment and nutrients, excessive growth, and weather. Today, we'll discuss soil, root systems, and fertilization.
Tomato growth, fruit expansion, and coloring require a significant amount of nutrients, especially potassium, boron, and calcium. While supplementation is crucial, proper absorption is also crucial. Therefore, root and soil issues are important considerations.
Experienced tomato growers use biofertilizers or rooting agents every year to promote healthy root growth and provide adequate nutrient replenishment later in the season. Their tomatoes often color and mature early, but in recent years, the same approach has been ineffective. What can be done?
Tomato planting typically begins with a base fertilizer application. Naturally fermented manure often contains a high concentration of harmful bacteria and heavy metals, leading to deteriorating soil quality. Furthermore, excessive use of chemical fertilizers can lead to excessive fertilizer residue in the soil. Using biofertilizers or rooting agents, however, cannot simultaneously address both soil nutrient and harmful bacteria, and generally results in ineffective results.
Therefore, using single-action fertilizers is ineffective. Instead, we can use a self-fertilizing biofertilizer, which combines both bacteria and fertilizer. This replenishes nutrients and beneficial bacteria in the soil and roots, eliminates harmful bacteria, and gradually restores the soil and roots to a healthy state, allowing tomatoes to thrive.
Furthermore, self-fertilizing biofertilizers are rich in organic matter, protein, amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients, making them highly effective in promoting fruit expansion, color, and sweetness. By leveraging the effects of phosphate and potassium-solubilizing bacteria, they increase fertilizer absorption and promote potassium release, further enhancing fruit color.
Once the soil and root systems are properly maintained, boron and calcium fertilizers are also crucial. Therefore, we can begin spraying tomatoes with a boron-calcium foliar fertilizer that provides both calcium and boron before flowering. This combined effect is even more effective and is particularly helpful in preventing fruit cracking later in the season.
Regarding tomato fertilizer application, it's generally recommended to use a balanced water-soluble fertilizer early in the season and a low-phosphorus, high-potassium water-soluble fertilizer later in the season. This improves fertilizer absorption and utilization, as well as its effectiveness. It also improves tomato yield, quality, and color change, and allows for a relatively early market launch.
There are many types of water-soluble fertilizers. Currently, water-soluble fertilizers based on potassium nitrate or potassium dihydrogen phosphate are generally recommended because they are safer, have better absorption and conversion, and are particularly effective for fruits that color slowly. Currently, most water-soluble fertilizers are based on potassium sulfate, so it's important to consider this when choosing a water-soluble fertilizer. High-potassium water-soluble fertilizers typically use a combination of potassium nitrate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, which are more cost-effective and effective. For a balanced fertilizer, potassium nitrate is sufficient.
