Key Cultivation Techniques for Getting Tomatoes to Bear Fruit Twice

First-generation hybrid tomato varieties have clear advantages in production: their yield, quality and disease resistance all surpass those of ordinary varieties. However, producing hybrid seed is labor-intensive and time-consuming and demands high technical skill, so the seed price is relatively high. In order to avoid changing the characteristics of the original variety while also making crop rotation scheduling easier, shortening the growing period and lowering production costs, the technique of getting tomatoes to bear fruit twice was studied. The steps for getting tomatoes to bear fruit twice are described below:

[Keeping a side shoot in the middle stage]

At the third truss of the first crop, keep one public shoot (for small-trellis varieties). If this shoot grows too vigorously and affects pollination and fruit set during the flowering period, the growing point must be pinched out to promote normal flower growth. For medium- and large-trellis varieties, keep it between the 4th and 5th trusses, with the same management.

[Keeping the vine in the late stage]

In the late growth stage, tomatoes produce small side shoots at irregular nodes. At this time, select those that are robust, have dark green leaves, short internodes and obvious flower buds for cultivation, and remove the others.

[Cutting back the plant to grow new shoots]

That is, cut off the original plant with scissors 5 cm above the ground, then irrigate and apply topdressing (12.5 kg of urea per mu). After about 5 days, small shoots grow out; select the good ones and remove the poor ones.

The comprehensive management points for getting tomatoes to bear fruit twice are: since a lot of nutrients were consumed in the early stage, water and fertilizer should be applied frequently, that is, water once every 5 days and apply diluted manure or diammonium phosphate (15 kg per mu), or apply sesame paste cake (100 kg per mu) scattered in the furrows. In the middle stage, quick-acting fertilizers can be applied, such as ammonium sulfonate (25 kg per mu) or ammonium nitrate (1.25 kg per mu), combined with foliar spraying (0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate or 10 ml of Yemianbao per mu). At the same time, attention should be paid to preventing the occurrence of diseases and pests such as late blight, anthracnose, viruses, cotton bollworm and aphids.