Why Are Tomato Stems Rotting? Prevention, Control and High-Yield Growing Methods

The tomato is a common fruit vegetable that we all know, also called tomato or foreign persimmon. Its sweet-and-sour taste is loved by many people, and as its market demand grows, its planting area is increasing year by year. Many people inevitably run into many problems when growing it, and among them many growers suffer badly from tomato stem rot. So why does tomato stem rot happen? How do you prevent and control it? What are the high-yield growing methods?

1. Why does tomato stem rot happen? How do you prevent and control it?

Cause 1: Improper watering, high soil moisture

Although tomatoes need a lot of water while growing, each watering should not be too heavy; keeping the soil moist is enough. Overwatering causes waterlogging, which makes the ground temperature too low and the soil poorly aerated, leading to root rot and stem rot.

Prevention and control method: When planting, choose loose soil with good drainage. Tomatoes have different water requirements at each growth stage, so watering must be done scientifically; you can water often, but each watering should not be too heavy. If you have watered too much or the soil moisture is high, you can increase the tomato's light exposure and use leaf transpiration to evaporate the excess water.

Cause 2: Low temperature

The best temperature for growing tomatoes is 20-30 degrees. Below 13 degrees its growth slows down; if it stays below 13 degrees for a long time, growth and development will be poor; below 6 degrees the plant suffers cold damage, leading to stem rot.

Prevention and control method: This mainly occurs in the cold northern regions and rarely in the south. If the temperature is too low, you can use greenhouse technology to keep warming and insulating, keeping the temperature above 15 degrees.

Cause 3: Large day-night temperature difference

The suitable growing temperature for tomatoes is 25-28 degrees during the day and 16-20 degrees at night. When the day-night temperature difference is large, it damages the roots, causing the plant to wilt and the stem to rot.

Prevention and control method: This situation mainly occurs in the southern regions in late spring and early summer, when daytime temperatures are high and nighttime temperatures are low, easily causing problems for the plant. If the daytime temperature is too high, you can provide shade; at night you can heat artificially or grow in a greenhouse.

Cause 4: Disease

If the seeds and soil are not disinfected before planting, or if the same crop is grown repeatedly on the same land, pathogens multiply in the soil. These pathogens easily cause tomato bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt and other diseases, all of which lead to stem rot.

Prevention and control method: Disinfect the seeds and soil before planting; when diseased plants are found, pull them out and burn them promptly, and spread quicklime or plant ash on the soil to disinfect and sterilize it, and apply chemicals for treatment.

2. What are the high-yield growing methods for tomatoes?

1. Choose good seed

A good variety is the foundation of a high yield. The tomatoes on the market today are dazzlingly varied, with a great many varieties, but you will find that different varieties taste different: some are much tastier, while some look good but taste poor, and so on. That is because different varieties grown in different regions produce different results, so we generally choose seed according to the specific conditions of the locality - for example, in the Hunan region you can choose varieties with stronger drought resistance and disease resistance.

2. Sow at the right time

Sowing at the right time is also an important condition for a high yield. Because there are now many tomato varieties and the climates across our country differ to some extent, different varieties and different regions have different planting times. For example, in the Northeast and Northwest regions of our country, tomatoes can be grown in two seasons, and can be sown in March and June each year, while in the North China region sowing starts in January and February each year. In general regions, though, tomatoes are basically planted in March and August each year, so you can see which region of our country you are in and then sow according to the scientific time.

3. Reasonable density

Basically the yield of crops, fruits, medicinal herbs and so on is more or less related to planting density, and tomatoes are the same. We should manage density according to the variety chosen and the fertility of the planting site. Normally, one mu of land can plant around five hundred to six hundred plants, but if the soil is rather poor we can increase the number planted appropriately, while under conditions of ample soil fertility we reduce the number. The distance between rows is generally 40 to 50 cm, and the distance between plants is about 30 to 40 cm. This makes later field management convenient, and the tomato plants also have some room to spread out, which is good for photosynthesis.

4. Scientific fertilization

Besides the base fertilizer, tomatoes need several rounds of fertilizing throughout the growing period. The first is after transplanting, when urea can be used to promote the seedlings. When the tomatoes flower we do the second fertilizing, and this time we can use potassium fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer, which promotes flowering and helps retain fruit. The third fertilizing is, of course, when the tomatoes have set fruit and are swelling; at this point we can fertilize in several installments. Because tomatoes can be harvested in batches, after each harvest you can spray a little foliar fertilizer, which plumps the fruit and also promotes ripening.

5. Pruning branches and leaves

During growth, tomatoes put out a great many side branches. Many people think that more side branches means a higher fruit set rate, but that is not actually the case: if there are too many side branches, the nutrients consumed are greater, and although many tomatoes form, in the end there are basically hardly any high-quality ones. So we generally prune away all the excess branches and leaves and keep only the main stem and some side branches, then also remove the denser leaves at the fruiting sites. This way the plant can absorb nutrients better and carry out photosynthesis, and the field is also better aerated, which can also prevent many diseases.

3. What nutritional value do tomatoes have?

Tomatoes are rich in carotene, vitamin C and B vitamins, and are called the magical fruit among vegetables. The “tomato factor” they contain has an antibacterial effect; the malic acid, citric acid and sugars in tomatoes aid digestion. The provitamin A that tomatoes are rich in is converted into vitamin A in the human body, which promotes bone growth and has good effects on preventing and treating rickets, xerophthalmia, night blindness and certain skin diseases.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, as well as carotene and many elements such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and iodine, and also contain protein, sugars, organic acids and cellulose. According to research measurements by nutritionists: eating 50-100 grams of fresh tomatoes per person per day can meet the human body's need for several vitamins and minerals.