How do cherry tomatoes keep warm? Agricultural experts visit the base to guide burning wood in greenhouses for warmth
Continuous rainy, humid and cold wave weather has severely affected the “Hongxiu” cherry tomatoes at the fruit and vegetable base of Lyugongfang Agricultural Company in Anxia Village, Qibu Town, Luoyuan County. On January 23, reporters saw in the base's smart greenhouse that the 12 mu of cherry tomatoes were “frozen” beyond recognition, with many leaves rotted black-brown and some whole plants showing withered branches and leaves. That day, under the guidance of county agricultural technicians, base workers “rescued” the barely alive cherry tomato plants on the iron frames, cutting off rotten branches and withered leaves to protect them from further infection.
“Hongxiu” is the flagship brand of the Luoyuan Lyugongfang fruit and vegetable base. Its firm flesh is red and translucent, and its sweetness is twice that of ordinary tomatoes. “But this variety is most afraid of extreme cold and humid weather. When the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, it is prone to disease.” said Zheng Xuchun, general manager of Lyugongfang Agricultural Company. “There are about 16,000 plants of this batch of cherry tomatoes. At a loss of 2.5 kg per plant and 40 yuan per kg, the base will lose 1.6 million yuan, and this does not include the loss affecting the next period.”
Continuous rainy weather and cold wave invasions caused most tomato plants in the base to be infected with late blight. “Thanks to the timely help of provincial agricultural science experts and county agricultural technicians, who guided reasonable medication, late blight has now been effectively controlled.” said Lian Yongle, base manager. According to the experts, if measures are appropriate and this period of low-temperature weather is survived, after half a month this batch of tomato plants still has hope of growing new buds.
Right now, the most important thing is “raising the temperature” to prevent cold. “On January 23, agricultural technical cadres from the county agricultural bureau came to the base to guide responses to the strong cold wave weather, trying the method of physically heating the smart greenhouse by burning wood. The room temperature can increase from 4 degrees Celsius to above 13 degrees Celsius, and the carbon dioxide emitted also helps the growth of fruits and vegetables, with obvious results.” Lian Yongle said that on the morning of the 24th they bought another batch of wood and continued to make fires, taking multiple measures in the hope of smoothly getting through this strong cold wave weather.