What to Do with a Tomato Tree in Winter? Do These Management Tasks Well for a Safe Overwintering

The tomato is originally a product of summer, and every year summer is when tomatoes ripen. But with economic development, the seasons for eating tomatoes have increased, and they can now be seen all year round. Because the tomato tree likes warmth, if a tomato tree is to go through winter, many measures still need to be taken.

What to Do with a Tomato Tree in Winter

As long as things are arranged reasonably, a tomato tree can overwinter safely in winter. The temperatures for a tomato tree in winter include air temperature, sand temperature, nutrient solution temperature, and so on. From 10:00 to 14:00, the air temperature should be controlled at 25-28°C, with a maximum not exceeding 30°C; after 14:00 it should be controlled at 22-25°C. At a depth of 5-10 cm in the substrate sand layer, the temperature should remain stable at around 22°C on average, with a range of 20-24°C, and it must not fluctuate too much. The temperatures of both the nutrient solution and the clean water should be controlled at an average of 20°C, with a range of 18-22°C.

Care and Management for a Tomato Tree Through Winter

1. Nutrient solution. The pH value of the nutrient solution should be controlled at around 6.5, the EC value of the nutrient solution should be controlled within 2.5-3.0 ms/cm, the liquid temperature of the nutrient solution should be controlled within 18-20°C, and the nutrient solution circulation time should be 10-20 hours per day. When the tomato tree plant enters the flowering and fruiting stage, add 50-100 grams of potassium sulfate per ton of nutrient solution every week.

2. Pruning. Pruning a tomato tree is different from pruning ordinary tomatoes. Ordinary tomatoes are pruned to a single stem, and all side branches must be removed, while tomato trees use the continuous double-stem pruning method, keeping 2 growing points on each branch. All the strong side branches that grow out are retained, and only some weak and small side branches are removed. A single tomato tree will have hundreds or thousands of growing points. At the base of the side branches, use string to guide them up to the cultivation rack, and the branches that reach the cultivation rack must also be evenly distributed in order, without shading or pressing on one another.

3. Fertilizing. To increase the nutrient supply for the tomato tree plant, carry out foliar fertilizer spraying once every 7-10 days. Where conditions allow, carbon dioxide can also be added.

Common Pests and Diseases of Tomato Trees in Winter

1. The main symptoms of leaf spot disease are: some round or nearly round small spots on the leaves, with the center of the spots grayish white and the edges dark brown, surrounded by a yellow halo. In severe cases, the leaves are covered with lesions that merge together, sometimes perforating, and the leaves wither and turn yellow.

2. Early blight first shows small dark brown spots on the affected leaves, which later develop into round or oval dark brown lesions with dark brown concentric rings. The outer edge of the lesion often has a yellow or yellow-green halo, and when humidity is high, gray-black mold-like substances appear on the lesions.

3. Late blight infection of the leaves mostly starts from the leaf tip or leaf edge, appearing water-soaked, initially dark green, and then turning brown. Late blight on the stems produces dark brown lesions, and the affected part becomes sunken, causing the tomato to develop a “black stem”. The green fruit stage is prone to the disease, with irregular lesions that look scalded by water. The lesions are relatively hard at first, then slowly rot. The difference between this disease and tomato early blight is: early blight consists of individual spots, while late blight lesions form patches; early blight lesions are distinct and have concentric rings, while late blight lesions are irregular, patchy, and water-scalded in appearance.

Prevention and Control of Tomato Tree Pests and Diseases in Winter

1. For the prevention and control of diseases in winter, controlling the humidity inside the greenhouse is key. After the Start of Winter, temperatures drop, light duration becomes shorter, and ventilation is reduced, resulting in high humidity inside the greenhouse for long periods, which favors infection and occurrence of diseases. First, strengthen watering management and ventilate reasonably to reduce humidity inside the greenhouse, thereby preventing the occurrence and spread of the disease. Second, for affected plants, promptly remove diseased leaves and dead branches to reduce sources of the disease. Third, apply pesticides in time for control. In the early stage of leaf spot disease, 64% oxadixyl-mancozeb at 500 times, 25% copper ammonium complex at 500 times, as well as chlorothalonil, carbendazim and other agents can be used for control.

2. To control early blight, 75% chlorothalonil 600 times solution, 80% mancozeb 600 times solution, or 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb 700 times solution can be used. To control late blight, 58% metalaxyl-mancozeb 500 times, 72% cymoxanil 500 times, or 72.2% propamocarb 800 times, and 69% dimethomorph-mancozeb 600 times, among others, can be sprayed for control. Depending on the disease condition, use once every 5-7 days, for 2-3 consecutive times. When the weather is bad and humidity inside the greenhouse is high, powders or smoke agents can also be used.

When a tomato tree overwinters, everyone does not need to panic too much. As long as ordinary tomato trees are managed well and the suitable temperature is controlled properly, they will not die in winter. Tomato trees will also be attacked by some pests and diseases in winter, and work in this area also needs to be strengthened.