A Detailed Explanation of the Causes of Tomato Blotchy Ripening and Its Prevention and Control Methods

Tomato is also known as the tomato [Solanum lycopersicum]; it tastes sweet and sour and is rich in nutrients. It is a vegetable that people relatively favor in daily life, but blotchy ripening often occurs during cultivation. Blotchy ripening is a physiological disorder of tomato that can cause a severe drop in tomato yield and reduce returns. So what causes tomato blotchy ripening? Let us take a look at the prevention and control methods together.

1. Symptoms

Tomato blotchy ripening is also called stem-end rot or stripe rot. When the disease occurs, there are two types of symptoms: the browning type and the whitening type. The browning type occurs at the young fruit stage, mainly harming the truss fruits. During the fruit enlargement stage, localized browning appears, the fruit surface becomes uneven, and some fruit skins show necrotic spots. When cut open, the internal tissue is found to be necrotic, and the fruit core becomes hard or brown. The whitening type mainly occurs during the color-turning stage of tomato, often appearing as poor coloring, dull surface, and uneven red and green. When dissected, the internal tissue is found to be browned and necrotic, and the browned areas do not turn red; the flesh becomes hard and tasteless when eaten.

2. Causes

This is a physiological disorder that can occur in all tomatoes. Generally, the degree of damage depends on the variety. In addition, short photoperiod and weak light, as well as low levels of elements in the soil, can all cause tomato blotchy ripening. When soil moisture is relatively high and permeability is poor, root respiration becomes difficult, which favors the occurrence of this disease. When the amount of fertilizer applied is relatively large, especially when nitrogen fertilizer is applied excessively and potassium fertilizer is insufficient, the disease is more severe. In addition, applying un-decomposed organic fertilizer or farmyard manure and excessive planting density can all induce this disease.

Choose excellent varieties that are not prone to the disease, strengthen field management, and plant at a reasonable density at the seedling stage or when transplanting to increase ventilation and light penetration between plants so that they receive sufficient light. Humidity regulation should also be strengthened, especially in early spring and late autumn. Also prevent excessive temperature; both too high and too low temperatures can cause blotchy ripening. Control the temperature between 15-28 degrees, with the minimum not lower than 10 degrees and the maximum not higher than 30 degrees. Water according to soil moisture and plant growth conditions. Do not irrigate heavily, so as to avoid excessive soil water accumulation, which can lead to soil compaction. Throughout the entire growth period, do a good job of pest and disease control. The diseases that can cause blotchy ripening include viral diseases, and the pests include aphids and whiteflies. Apply topdressing reasonably. When fertilizing, use light nitrogen, less phosphorus, heavy potassium, and supplement calcium and magnesium to achieve a balanced combination of various nutrients. During the full fruit stage, a potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution can be sprayed on the leaves to reduce the occurrence of blotchy ripening and increase yield.

The above are the causes of tomato blotchy ripening and its prevention and control methods. We hope this can help you. If you want to learn more about tomato cultivation knowledge, please follow us.