How to Propagate Cherry Tomatoes? A Detailed Guide to Cherry Tomato Propagation Techniques
Cherry tomatoes, also known as cherry tomatoes, taste similar to regular tomatoes but are very small, and many people eat them as a fruit. They can also be used to make various dishes, and now the cultivation area of cherry tomatoes in our country is very extensive. Many people now want to expand their planting area, so how should we propagate them to expand the planting area? Below, the editor brings you the seed propagation techniques for cherry tomatoes. Let's take a look!
1. Seedbed Preparation
For the seedling bed soil of cherry tomatoes, attention must be paid to the previous crop; it must not be a solanaceous crop, otherwise various continuous cropping diseases are likely to occur during the seedling raising process. Ensure the soil is fertile and loose, rich in humus, then plough the land deeply, and apply sufficient base fertilizer. The base fertilizer is mainly decomposed agricultural machinery manure and compound fertilizers such as superphosphate, fully mixed with the soil and then evenly spread on the seedling bed. If it is in early spring, it should be set up in a greenhouse to ensure a suitable temperature for cherry tomato seedling raising. The seedling bed should also have good rain-sheltering and sun-shading measures, and drainage ditches should be dug well to facilitate seedling management.
2. Seed Treatment
Cherry tomato seeds usually carry certain pathogens, and the incidence of pests and diseases is mostly due to seed transmission. Therefore, before sowing, the seeds should be disinfected to prevent seed-borne diseases. First, wet the seeds with clean water, then wrap them in a wet cloth, soak them in agents such as trisodium phosphate calcium for about 18 minutes, and then take the seed package out. Wrap them in a wet cloth and place them at a temperature of about 30 degrees for germination. During germination, take the seeds out and rinse them once a day with clean water. After about 3 days, when more than half of the seeds have sprouted, they can be sown.
3. Sowing and Seedling Raising
Before sowing, set up the seedling bed in a place with higher terrain, dry conditions and normal drainage and irrigation. Then arrange the seedling bed well, pay attention to disinfecting the nutrient soil, and use agents such as formalin to sprinkle it comprehensively and evenly. Then prepare the land and make beds; the height of the bed must not be less than 1 m to facilitate later drainage. Then sow at the right time while controlling the sowing density; when sowing, pay attention to placing 1-2 seeds in each seedling hole. After sowing, cover with soil and water to promote seed germination, allow the seeds to fully absorb water, improve the germination rate, and ensure uniform seedlings.
4. Seedling Stage Management
As just mentioned, after sowing, water thoroughly; if in an environment with lower temperatures in early spring, the amount of watering can be appropriately reduced. Then pay attention to good insulation work to prevent excessively low temperatures from reducing seed germination ability and causing difficulty in seed germination. After emergence, keep one seedling per planting hole and pull out excess seedlings. Also control the temperature well; after emergence, control the temperature at about 22 degrees, and keep the nighttime temperature at 13-14 degrees. Weed regularly to prevent weeds from competing for nutrients and affecting seedling growth. When the seedlings grow to about 18 cm and have about 4 true leaves, they can be transplanted and planted.
After the seedlings emerge, thinning and transplanting of seedlings should also be done well to ensure the normal growth of each seedling, and the growth of seedlings should be observed frequently, promptly pulling out poorly growing seedlings, pest- and disease-affected seedlings, and dead seedlings. Then fill in seedlings of the same growth to ensure uniform and complete seedlings and protect your own planting benefits. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!