Many places will tell you that low temperatures below 55 overnight and high temperatures above 90 during the day inhibiting fruit set. Our experience has been that these may have an influence, but that other factors may be more important. Tomatoes, we grew up with flowers, continuing to set fruit, at temperatures beyond these extremes.
Large water is essential, especially in the hot season the tomato plant must "sweat" or transpire in order to remain fresh. Dr. discover Mittleider gardening says that as much as 95% of the water passing through a tomato plant will be lost by transpiration in a hot day. Therefore, make sure that your plants have moisture at all times-even if this means watering more than once a day in the hot season.
There are two other things to look for when tomatoes look healthy, but fail to set fruit. First, look and see if there are any Thrips around the flowers. "Insects Are tiny, thin, narrow. Thrips, and inhabit almost all farm crops and garden. Their special desserts is pollen! If I'm allowed to multiply, you eat the pollen as mature and therefore interfere with the normal pollination. When there is no pollen, female flowers die and fall. Get tomatoes to set fruit can be as simple as controlling thrips. " (Let's grow tomatoes-Ch 22).
Secondly, inspect for nematodes. Here is some information on nematodes in Chapter 20 of let's grow tomatoes: "nematodes are small eel-like worms. So small, that are rarely seen with the naked eye. These eel-like worms eat their way into the roots of the plants and then living out the essential liquids in roots.
"I am particularly fond of tomato plants. Roothold are Brown, irregular lumps that appear as rough nodes. Nematodes are increasing rapidly and, as they increase, the nodes become larger. The roots of tomato can be heavily infested with nematodes without affecting the color green of the leaves or delay significantly the growth of plants.
Pollination and conception are almost automatic for tomatoes. "However, concept poses a heavy load on the plant. If the roots are working properly and essential nutrients, water, air and temperature are satisfactory, which roots easily capable of supporting the added responsibility, which is to develop the tomatoes. But if roundworms found in roots, plant performance are reduced according to the number of nematodes.
"When the plant is flowering, nematodes have multiplied so much that the plant has a full load only to support the nematodes. The plant cannot expel the nematodes; Therefore, when the flowers mature and are pollinated, they are interrupted by small fruit so that the plant to survive and stay alive. But the plant does not give up fighting. Looking for seed production. And it puts out new leaves, buds and flowers. And once again, at the crucial moment, nematodes, because the fruit of the plant stops just to stay alive. This process is repeated over and over again in the nematode-infested plants. Plants can not do otherwise.
Therefore, plants, which seem to be healthy, but fail to set fruit should be carefully inspected for nematode infestation.
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