What to do when tomatoes suffer frost damage? The latest prevention and remedial methods
Tomatoes are a relatively special vegetable; they can be made into delicious dishes and can also be eaten raw as a fruit, and they have a large market in our country. The cultivation history of tomatoes in our country is very long, but many problems still occur in tomato cultivation, among which frost damage is relatively common. So what should be done about tomato frost damage? What symptoms are there? And how should it be prevented and controlled? Let's take a look below!
1. Symptoms of frost damage
Tomato frost damage generally occurs in winter. As winter temperatures gradually drop, greenhouse tomatoes grown in the winter-spring season are often troubled by low temperatures. This causes frost injury to tomatoes. After frost injury, the cotyledons of the tomato plant begin to lose green color, and leaf curling appears, while the frost-injured parts turn from green to yellow. Sometimes it can also cause the entire leaf to wither and die. If frost damage occurs just after planting, the sprouting of new roots is hindered, and the old roots suffer nutrient imbalance and turn yellow. In mild cases, the flowering and fruiting period of tomatoes is prolonged; in severe cases, it leads to dead seedlings and total loss of harvest.
2. Causes
Tomatoes that suffer frost damage are generally at the edges of the greenhouse. The insulation capacity at the edges of the greenhouse is relatively poor, so the plants are also more likely to suffer frost damage. In addition, the weather is sometimes unstable, and when the soil cools down, insulation cannot be provided in time. This causes the temperature inside the greenhouse to fall below the range that tomatoes can tolerate, leading to frost damage to the plants. Also, if heavy snow occurs in winter, the heavy snow accumulates on the greenhouse surface as snow cover, which is not easy to melt. If it is not dealt with in time, the snow cover generates cold air that invades the greenhouse. This leads to a long period of low-temperature conditions, causing phenomena such as frost damage and dead seedlings.
3. Prevention and control methods
Renovate the greenhouse
When building a cultivation greenhouse, attention should be paid to ensuring a reasonable layout. The arch height should not be too large. If conditions permit, use iron frames as the greenhouse skeleton to improve the load-bearing capacity of the greenhouse. Then the greenhouse film should be pressed tight and firm with press-film lines, and leaks caused by wind or water should be repaired in time. After covering the greenhouse film, place an appropriate amount of straw felt on top to protect the greenhouse film. Then appropriately increase the application rate of farmyard manure inside the greenhouse, which can effectively raise the low temperature. After entering winter, methods such as charcoal fires or heating wires can be used for warming measures.
Strengthen management
While warming the greenhouse, we must also do a good job of ventilation. After warming, ventilate appropriately once for a short time to improve the air quality inside the greenhouse and reduce humidity. Before frost, water in advance and do a good job of overwintering watering, which can appropriately raise the temperature inside the greenhouse. Then the method of smoke fumigation can also be used to raise the temperature inside the greenhouse. Combined with disease prevention, carry this out inside the greenhouse every day at midnight. The next morning, the temperature will also increase noticeably.
The above is a brief introduction to what to do about tomato frost damage. Tomato frost damage can have a serious impact on yield, so everyone must pay close attention when planting to ensure the normal growth of tomatoes and improve planting benefits. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!