Intercultural Operations, Pruning and Staking/Training in Tomato Cultivation

Intercultural Operations, Pruning and Staking/Training in Tomato Cultivation

Frequent inter-tillage and cultivation should be done in the field to keep it free from weeds. As the plants grow bigger, all the intercultural operations should be shallow, so that the roots which spread unto a depth of 5 cm below the surface soil may not be injured.

Though pruning and staking in the tomato .crop increase cost of cultivation, yet according to Mehta (lit. cit.) and Fernandez (1963), both these operations make a tomato-plant grow more better and larger tomatoes resulting in a higher yield per hectare. But both of these operations depend on the time that is at the disposal of the grower and the availability and cost of the staking material.

According to Fernandez, through pruning tomato plant may be made single-stem in the following ways:

All the side shoots are removed so that plant may use all its food and energy to develop its fruits and very little of it is left for the foliage. These are then staked. In this way the plants get a 1.2 meter square area and bear more fruits.

The following are the advantages of pruning to single stem and staking:

1) They produce more fruits per hectare per plant an average.

2) They yield earlier and give rise to more cluster.

3) They make picking more rapid .and cultivation and spraying easier.

4) They give cleaner more uniform and lager fruits.

When the fruits ripen, the plots become a treat to the eye with their ripe red colour. According to Fernandez, the vine ripened tomatoes from single -stem plants are as nutritious and tasty as the fresh laid eggs.

Disadvantages of this method:

i) Cost of cultivation increases considerably.

ii) According to Mehta,   there   are more changes of sun scalding in   the excessively warm weather due lo fruits being exposed to sun.