The largest possible tomato harvest can be obtained if you intensively feed the plants in the first phase of active fruiting. The proposed fertilizer application scheme is especially relevant for tall (indeterminate) varieties and hybrids of the crop, but is also applicable to bush species, regardless of their habitat (greenhouse, hotbed, open ground).
Since tomatoes ripening on the lower clusters absorb most of the plastic substances, it is quite natural that the formation of ovaries on the upper tier and the full development of the growing point are suspended. With the help of enhanced mineral supplements, this problem can be easily solved.
Features of the consumption of minerals and trace elements during the filling of fruits of the lower clusters
When fruits are pouring en masse on the lower tiers, and at the same time the upper clusters are actively blooming, and at the same time the processes of setting pollinated flowers are taking place, tomatoes are in dire need of a large amount of potassium, as well as a whole complex of microelements (boron, iron, copper, sulfur, molybdenum, zinc and manganese).
Nitrogen is no less important at this time, the deficiency of which is eloquently evidenced by the thinning of the upper part of the stems. Small portions of nitrogen compounds in complex mineral fertilizers keep plants healthy, helping them form new shoots without stopping growth. The nitrogen component in fertilizing is excluded only in cases where the seedlings are fattening.
But phosphorus, which is responsible for the development of the root system, can be either completely eliminated at this stage or used in a minimal dosage.
Based on the characteristics of the mineral nutrition of the nightshade crop, at this stage it is most convenient to use ready-made fertilizers with increased potassium content, for example, “Master 3+11+38+4”, “White Kristalon (15:5:30+3)” or “Kristalon brown (3:11:38+4).”
However, as practice shows, a single feeding of tomatoes with complex water-soluble products is not enough to completely eliminate the nutritional deficiency in the upper part of the bushes. In addition to potassium, nitrogen and microelements, at this stage tomatoes need bioavailable forms of calcium. It is this substance that ensures full cellular metabolism, which means it promotes maximum absorption of the nutritional components introduced earlier.
6 days to fully provide tomato bushes with minerals
That is why the intensive feeding scheme for tomatoes, on which the fruits of the lower tier (the first three cysts) are filled, consists of 6 procedures.
On days 1, 3 and 5, plants are fed with complex mineral fertilizer (approximate concentration NPK 15:3:35).
On days 2, 4 and 6, the bushes are watered with a solution of calcinite, an effective source of chelated forms of calcium.
Professional formulations are diluted with water according to the instructions.The prepared working solution is applied under each bush on damp soil, preferably early in the morning.
After intensive enrichment of the soil in greenhouse and open beds, tomatoes are not fed at the root for 2-4 weeks. During this time, it is recommended to carry out several foliar treatments of the bushes with microfertilizer solutions, for example, strained ash infusion or “Liquid activator AIDAMIN-CYTO”.
According to experts, this scheme for applying fertilizers to tomatoes ensures the full maturation of the ovaries located on 8-10 clusters of tall varieties of the crop. This allows you to increase the yield of the plantation by 30-50%. The scheme is also used on low-growing (determinant) species of nightshade plants that are limited in growth.
Have a good harvest!
