How to comprehensively prevent and control tomato fruit rib rot? A detailed guide to practical methods

Tomato, also known as the love apple or foreign persimmon. Its ancient names were June persimmon and Xibao Sanyuan. In Peru and Mexico, it was originally called “wolf peach”. The whole plant is covered with sticky glandular hairs and has a strong odor. The stem tends to lodge. The leaves are pinnately compound or pinnately parted, with extremely irregular leaflets of unequal size, ovate or oblong, with irregular serrations or lobes along the edges. The calyx is wheel-shaped, with lanceolate lobes that persist in fruit; the corolla is wheel-shaped and yellow. The berry is flattened-globose or nearly globose, fleshy and juicy, orange-yellow or bright red, and smooth; the seeds are yellow. The flowering and fruiting period is summer and autumn.

Morphological characteristics of tomato

The tomato plant is 0.6-2 m tall, and the whole plant is covered with sticky glandular hairs and has a strong odor. The leaves are pinnately compound or pinnately parted, 10-40 cm long, with extremely irregular leaflets of unequal size, usually 5-9 in number, ovate or oblong, 5-7 cm long, with irregular serrations or lobes along the edges.

The common peduncle of the inflorescence is 2-5 cm long, usually with 3-7 flowers; the pedicel is 1-1.5 cm long; the calyx is wheel-shaped, with lanceolate lobes that persist in fruit; the corolla is wheel-shaped, about 2 cm in diameter, and yellow.

The berry is flattened-globose or nearly globose, fleshy and juicy, orange-yellow or bright red, and smooth; the seeds are yellow. The flowering and fruiting period is summer and autumn.

Comprehensive prevention and control of tomato fruit rib rot

What is fruit rib rot?

Also called strip rot or stripe spot disease, it is a relatively common and serious physiological disease of greenhouse tomatoes.

Introduction to tomato fruit rib rot: It is a physiological disease that mostly occurs from fruit enlargement to maturity. In the early stage, the fruit exterior shows strip-shaped grayish dirty spots extending from the stem end toward the blossom end, and in severe cases they appear cloud-like. In the later stage, the color of the diseased area deepens, and the boundary between diseased and healthy tissue becomes clearer. In most fruits, the cross-section shows grayish-brown vascular bundles, cell necrosis, and hardening of the fruit wall. In severe cases, the fruit flesh becomes brown and lignified, and the quality deteriorates, becoming bland and tasteless. Viewed longitudinally, there are streaks of black ribs from the fruit stalk toward the blossom end, hence the name fruit rib rot.

The occurrence of tomato fruit rib rot is related to variety, climate, and cultivation conditions. Under normal circumstances, mid- and late-maturing varieties such as Jiafen No. 1, No. 2, No. 15, and Qiangfeng have strong growth vigor and a large number of leaves, and are lightly affected or not affected. Early-maturing varieties are severely affected, and excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer, poor light, high night temperature, and compacted soil can also lead to severe disease.

Comprehensive prevention and control of tomato fruit rib rot:

For prevention and control, first, mid- and late-maturing varieties with mild disease should be selected for planting. Second, apply more organic fertilizer and farmyard manure, apply nitrogen fertilizer in moderation, increase potassium fertilizer, and after the fruit enters the enlargement stage, carry out foliar topdressing. Third, control temperature; as temperatures rise quickly in early spring, pay attention to ventilation. To enhance light intensity, greenhouse film should be wiped frequently in winter and spring cultivation, and old polyethylene greenhouse film should be avoided to prevent dust adsorption on the film from affecting light inside the greenhouse. Fourth, apply fertilizer and water reasonably; flood irrigation is not advisable, and watering once at the cluster fruit enlargement stage is sufficient. When topdressing nitrogen fertilizer, urea should not exceed 20 kg per mu and ammonium bicarbonate should not exceed 5 kg. On the premise of sufficient fertilizer and water, simultaneous carbon dioxide fertilization gives even better results.