Detailed Explanation of Key Points for High-Quality and High-Efficiency Cultivation Techniques of Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomato, also known as mini tomato, is mainly grown for its fresh fruit. The fruit is small, with a single fruit weight of 10-20 g. The plant has strong growth vigor and bears many fruits, with 400-500 fruits per plant. Fruit shapes include spherical, jujube-shaped, and pear-shaped, etc. It has high ornamental value and rich nutritional value, containing various nutrients such as soluble sugars, organic acids, protein, carotene, vitamins and minerals. Ripe fruits have a sugar content as high as 8%-10%, with a suitable sweet-sour taste and unique flavor, and are deeply loved by people. Cherry tomato is a warm-loving fruit vegetable. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 25-30°C, the optimum temperature for growth is 20-25°C, and the optimum temperature for growth during the fruiting period is 15-25°C. It likes light, and insufficient light easily causes flower and fruit drop. It requires little water in the early stage and more in the later stage. It has strong adaptability to soil, performs best on sandy loam soil, and likes potassium fertilizer. The yield of cherry tomato is relatively low, with a yield of 2000-2500 kg per mu. The sales price is relatively high in spring, summer and autumn, especially in spring and summer. The main varieties include Shengnv, Longnv, etc.
The main key points of its cultivation techniques are:
1. Cultivation season The cultivation season of cherry tomato is similar to that of common tomato. For open-field cultivation, spring sowing can be done in early February with seedling raising in protected areas, and transplanting when 5-6 true leaves appear, entering the harvest period in early May. For autumn sowing, seedlings can be raised in June, transplanted in July, and harvested starting in September. Cultivation in protected areas can be appropriately advanced.
2. Sowing and seedling raising
2.1 Seed treatment To prevent seed-borne disease transmission, seed disinfection should be carried out before sowing. Seed disinfection can be done by hot water soaking or chemical soaking. Hot water soaking: soak tomato seeds in cold water for 10 minutes, then place them in hot water at 50-55°C, stirring constantly and quickly to make the seeds heated evenly, and add hot water at any time to keep the water temperature stable at 50-55°C. After 15-20 minutes, remove them and place them in cold water to dissipate the residual heat, then soak them in warm water at 25-30°C for 4-6 hours. Chemical soaking: wrap the seeds in gauze, place them in a 10% trisodium phosphate aqueous solution and soak for 20-30 minutes, then take out the seeds. Wrap them in a wet towel and place them at 25-28°C for germination. During germination, rinse the seeds 1-2 times a day with warm water at about 25°C. After 2-3 days of germination, when 1/2 of the seeds have sprouted, they can be sown.
2.2 Sowing First water the prepared seedbed. After the water has seeped down, sow evenly after 2—3 hours, then cover with 0.5-1 cm of sieved soil. The seeding rate per square meter of seedling bed is 3-5 g, and 8-10 sq m of seedling bed is needed per mu of planting area.
3. Transplanting Transplant when the seedlings have 5-6 true leaves. Plant in double rows per ridge, with a small row spacing of 60 cm and a plant spacing of 35-40 cm, planting 2500-3000 plants per mu. For plastic film mulching, first prepare the ridge and lay the film, then make transplanting holes according to the plant spacing. The transplanting depth should be such that the cotyledons are 1 cm above the ground. When transplanting, water thoroughly. Field management such as watering, topdressing, temperature management, and pest and disease control is the same as for conventional seed production.
4. Pruning Cherry tomato grows rapidly in the greenhouse, with tall plants and poor upright growth. When the plant grows to 30-40 cm, stakes or hanging strings should be used for support to prevent lodging. The side branches have strong growth ability. Generally, multi-layer plus continuous 2-layer pinching pruning is carried out, that is, retaining the inflorescences on the main stem, keeping the side branches growing from the main stem, leaving 2 inflorescences on each side branch, and then pinching after leaving 2 leaves above the inflorescence. Timely remove excess axillary buds and twist side branches so that the side branches do not shade each other. Twisting is generally done in the afternoon, and the yellowed old leaves and diseased leaves at the lower part should be removed in time to reduce nutrient consumption and enhance light penetration.
5. Flower thinning and fruit retention When the temperature is low in early spring, pollination is poor and flowers easily drop. 2·4 drops can be applied to the calyx and pedicel of newly opened flowers (only need to apply once). Cherry tomato has many flowers and fruits per cluster. It is sufficient to retain 20-30 well-set fruits and remove the rest.
6. Harvest Determine the harvest time according to transportation conditions. For long-distance transportation, the fruits can be harvested when they just begin to change color. For local sales, they should be harvested when fully ripe. When harvesting, retain the sepals and a section of the fruit stalk.