STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous Next End The main reason for staking and supporting tomato plants is to keep plants and off the ground. This reduces losses from fruit rots when fruit are not shaded by foliage. Determinate varieties are not heavily pruned, regardless of support system, because most of the fruit produced on the branches.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Indeterminate varieties continue to grow and produce leaves and flower cluster until diseases, insects, cold or lack of water and fertilizer kills the plants. Indeterminate varieties are heavily pruned when trellised, moderately pruned when staked, and lightly pruned when caged.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Merits of staking tomato plants are:  It keeps the fruits above the ground  It helps in producing healthy fruits.  Relatively clean, firm and large sized fruits are obtained.  There are comparatively loss chances from incidence of pests  It facilitates spraying and dusting of pesticides/ fungicides.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd  It increases the plant stand per unit area.  It facilitate rapid picking and collection of fruits.  Training an d staking help in better utilization of sunlight and air. Demerits:  It adds more cost of cultivation  There is a damage of spreading virus infection unless necessary precaution are taken.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Staking A popular method is to select the main stem, the sucker that develops immediately below the first bloom cluster (a very strong sucker) and one other sucker below that. Remove all other suckers and as tie the plants, periodically remove additional suckers that develops on selected branches. Tie individual branches to the stake with soft and by first tying twine to the stake and then looping it loosely around the plant.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Stake and weaved tomato plants Previous NextEnd Stake and Weave In this training system, wooden or metal stakes are driven between every other tomato plant. Lines of twine are strung between stakes on either side of the plants to provide support. Indeterminate varieties require longer stakes (5-6 feet) than determinate varieties (3-4 feet.) although the growth habit of your specific variety will help determine stake length

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous Next End Wooden stakes should be at least 1” square to provide strong support throughout the season. Twine must be resistant to weather and stretching, and have sufficient "grip" to wrap tightly around stakes. Metal stakes can be of a smaller diameter, and have the advantage of being reusable from season to season. Cut pieces of concrete reinforcing rods make excellent stakes

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd A variation of this system called the Florida weave establishes the first line by weaving from one side of the plant row to the other, alternating around each stake. Often only the first line is woven in this manner, and subsequent lines run straight down each side of the plant row. The first line is attached from the end stake to the next stake, wrapping that stake and crossing the row to reach the following stake on the other side of the plant row forming down the row, and returning in the opposite.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Trellis Trellising is used to train indeterminate tomatoes The system consists of heavy gauge wire strung horizontally across the top of widely spaced, sturdy (3-6 inch) support posts. Lengths of twine are dropped from this top wire and secured to the base of each tomato plant (or to a bottom wire, if used).

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd The plants are trained to two main stems, and each stem is wound around a length of twine as the plant grows. Support posts should stand 5-6 feet above the soil and be spaced feet apart down the row.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd The fruit of trellised plants is more susceptible to sunburn because of the reduced canopy and greater sun exposure. The plants may produce fewer fruits but these are larger and ripen earlier than plants trained in other ways. Cages Caging is a support system that requires less work than staking or trellising, but provides similar benefits in protecting plants from contact with the soil. Cages can be made from sections of 6 inch wire mesh.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd A foot length of mesh can be folded into a cylindrical cage with an 18 inch diameter. The cage can be supported by a stake, or if the bottom cross-wires are cut out the cage can be pressed into the ground on its wire "feet.“ For indeterminate varieties, cages should be 5 feet high; determinate varieties can be grown with shorter cages.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Some growers creatively use other materials to train tomatoes. Sections of open wire mesh (hog wire) can be placed 8-10 inches off the ground to form a tabletop-like support for plants. The mesh should be cut 2-3 feet wide and laid the length of the row, parallel to the ground and resting on "H"-shaped supports. Install this support while plants are still small. As plants grow through, their branches will lay out onto the wire mesh for support. Other options

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Caged plants are pruned lightly or not at all. Growing branches should be lifted or turned to be supported by the wire Tomatoes can be harvested easily through the 6 inch mesh. Caged plants may not produce ripe tomatoes as early as staked or trellised plants, but they produce more tomatoes that are less likely to suffer from cracking or sunburn.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Ground cage Stake and weave Trellis Previous NextEnd

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd 1)Ground-- no support system 2)Cage—2 foot tall wire cage 14 inches in diameter made from No. 10 mesh on 6"x6" spacing. 3)Stake and Weave—Stake is driven between every other plant and twine woven between and around stakes 4-6 times. All suckers but one below the first fruit cluster are removed. No other suckers are removed above the first cluster. 4)Trellis—Posts support No. 10 wire. Strings are dropped from wire and tied to base of plant. Plants are twined around string. The main stem and one sucker are allowed to develop and all other suckers are removed as they develop.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd There are few hard and fast rules in tomato pruning, and many varying opinions. Good pruning achieves the optimum balance between vegetative growth and fruit production. Pruning will impact fruit size, fruit quality and yield, so it is important to strike the right balance between reducing vigorous foliage and stripping the plant. Pruning

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Good pruning helps increase fruit size and enhance earliness. However, pruning too heavily can reduce yield and increase problems with sunburn, blossom end rot, and catfacing. In determining how to prune your tomato crop, consider the growth habit (determinate or indeterminate) of your plants. Indeterminate tomatoes are more heavily pruned than determinate ones, but even determinate tomatoes often require some level of pruning. Next, consider any special features of your specific variety including any recommendations from your seed supplier. The amount of pruning needed can vary with variety. Previous NextEnd

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous NextEnd Pruning is usually started as the plants are first being staked or supported, sometimes before stringing them to avoid interference with the lines. Tomato plants are pruned by selectively removing suckers, the shoot that grows between the main stem and a leaf. Suckers should be broken off while they are still small, between 2-4 inches in length. Prune plants only when the leaves are dry to reduce the spread of disease.

STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION Previous Plants in the trellis system are generally trained to two stems: the main stem and the stem that develops from the sucker just below the first flower cluster. Suckers below this one should be removed. The remaining two stems should be twined around the vertical string support as the plant grows. If very vigorous plants grow above the top of the stake system, they may need to be topped.