Transcript 5.STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION

STAKING AND TRAINING
IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
The main reason for staking and supporting tomato plants is to
keep plants and off the ground.
This reduces losses from fruit rots when fruit are not shaded by
foliage.
Determinate varieties are not heavily pruned, regardless of support
system, because most of the fruit produced on the branches.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Indeterminate varieties continue to
grow and produce leaves and flower
cluster until diseases, insects, cold
or lack of water and fertilizer kills
the plants.
Indeterminate varieties are heavily pruned
when
trellised,
moderately pruned when
staked, and lightly pruned when caged.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Merits of staking tomato plants are:
 It keeps the fruits above the ground
 It helps in producing healthy fruits.
 Relatively clean, firm and large sized fruits are obtained.
 There are comparatively loss chances from incidence of pests
 It facilitates spraying and dusting of pesticides/ fungicides.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
 It increases the plant stand per unit area.
 It facilitate rapid picking and collection of fruits.
 Training an d staking help in better utilization of sunlight and
air.
Demerits:
 It adds more cost of cultivation
 There is a damage of spreading virus infection unless
necessary precaution are taken.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Staking
A popular method is to select the main
stem,
the
sucker
that
develops
immediately below the first bloom cluster
(a very strong sucker) and one other
sucker below that.
Remove all other suckers and as tie the
plants, periodically remove additional
suckers that develops on selected
branches.
Tie individual branches to the stake with
soft and by first tying twine to the stake
and then looping it loosely around the
plant.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Stake and Weave
In this training system, wooden or
metal stakes are driven between every
other tomato plant. Lines of twine are
strung between stakes on either side
of the plants to provide support.
Indeterminate varieties require longer
stakes (5-6 feet) than determinate
varieties
(3-4
feet.)
although
the
growth habit of your specific variety will
help determine stake length
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Stake and weaved
tomato plants
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Wooden stakes should be at least 1” square to provide
strong support throughout the season.
Metal stakes can be of a smaller diameter, and have
the advantage of being reusable from season to
season. Cut pieces of concrete reinforcing rods
make excellent stakes
Twine must be resistant to weather and
stretching, and have sufficient "grip" to wrap
tightly around stakes.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
A variation of this system called the Florida weave establishes the first
line by weaving from one side of the plant row to the other, alternating
around each stake.
The first line is attached from the end stake to the next
stake, wrapping that stake and crossing the row to reach
the following stake on the other side of the plant row
forming down the row, and returning in the opposite.
Often only the first line is woven in this
manner, and subsequent lines run straight
down each side of the plant row.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Trellis
Trellising is used to train indeterminate
tomatoes
The system consists of heavy gauge
wire strung horizontally across the top
of widely spaced, sturdy (3-6 inch)
support posts.
Lengths of twine are dropped from
this top wire and secured to the base
of each tomato plant (or to a bottom
wire, if used).
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
The plants are trained to two
main stems, and each stem is
wound around a length of twine
as the plant grows.
Support posts should stand 5-6
feet above the soil and be
spaced 12-20 feet apart down
the row.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
The fruit of trellised plants is more susceptible to sunburn because of
the reduced canopy and greater sun exposure.
The plants may produce fewer fruits but these are larger and ripen
earlier than plants trained in other ways.
Cages
Caging is a support system that requires less work than staking or
trellising, but provides similar benefits in protecting plants from contact
with the soil.
Cages can be made from sections of 6 inch wire mesh.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
A foot length of mesh can be folded
into a cylindrical cage with an 18 inch
diameter.
The cage can be supported by a
stake, or if the bottom cross-wires are
cut out the cage can be pressed into
the ground on its wire "feet.“
For indeterminate varieties, cages
should be 5 feet high; determinate
varieties can be grown with shorter
cages.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Other options
Some growers creatively use other materials to train tomatoes.
Sections of open wire mesh (hog wire) can be placed 8-10
inches off the ground to form a tabletop-like support for plants.
The mesh should be cut 2-3 feet wide and laid the length of the
row, parallel to the ground and resting on "H"-shaped supports.
Install this support while plants are still small.
As plants grow through, their branches will lay out onto the wire
mesh for support.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Caged plants are pruned lightly or not
at all.
Growing branches should be
lifted or turned to be supported by the
wire
Tomatoes can be harvested easily
through the 6 inch mesh.
Caged plants may not produce ripe
tomatoes
as
early
as
staked
or
trellised plants, but they produce more
tomatoes that are less likely to suffer
from cracking or sunburn.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Comparison of Tomato Training Systems
Factor
(1)
Cage (2)
Stake
Weave (3)
and
Trellis (4)
Earliness
3rd
4th
2nd
Best
Fruit Size
4th
3rd
2nd
Largest
4th
Largest
2nd
3rd
Fruit Cracking 3rd
4th
2nd
Worst
Fruit Rotting
Worst
2nd
2nd
2nd
Fruit Quality
Worst
2nd
2nd
2nd
Fruit Sunburn Worst
4th
3rd
2nd
Cost/Acre
4th
2nd
Largest
3rd
Pest Control
4th
3rd
2nd
Best
Marketable
Ground
Ground
Yield
Stake and weave
Trellis
cage
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
1) Ground-- no support system
2) Cage—2 foot tall wire cage 14 inches in diameter made from No. 10
mesh on 6"x6" spacing.
3) Stake and Weave—Stake is driven between every other plant and
twine woven between and around stakes 4-6 times. All suckers but
one below the first fruit cluster are removed. No other suckers are
removed above the first cluster.
4) Trellis—Posts support No. 10 wire. Strings are dropped from wire and
tied to base of plant. Plants are twined around string. The main stem
and one sucker are allowed to develop and all other suckers are
removed as they develop.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Pruning
There are few hard and fast rules in
tomato pruning, and many varying
opinions. Good pruning achieves the
optimum balance between vegetative
growth and fruit production.
Pruning will impact fruit size, fruit
quality and yield, so it is important to
strike
the
right
balance
between
reducing vigorous foliage and stripping
the plant.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Good pruning helps increase fruit size and enhance earliness.
However, pruning too heavily can reduce yield and increase problems with
sunburn, blossom end rot, and catfacing.
In determining how to prune your tomato crop, consider the growth habit
(determinate or indeterminate) of your plants.
Indeterminate tomatoes are more heavily pruned than determinate ones, but
even determinate tomatoes often require some level of pruning.
Next, consider any special features of your specific variety including any
recommendations from your seed supplier.
The amount of pruning needed can vary with variety.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO PRODUCTION
Pruning is usually started as the plants are first being staked or supported,
sometimes before stringing them to avoid interference with the lines.
Tomato plants are pruned by selectively removing suckers, the shoot that
grows between the main stem and a leaf.
Suckers should be broken off while they are still small, between 2-4 inches
in length.
Prune plants only when the leaves are dry to reduce the spread of
disease.
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STAKING AND TRAINING IN TOMATO
PRODUCTION
Plants in the trellis system are generally
trained to two stems: the main stem and the
stem that develops from the sucker just below
the first flower cluster.
Suckers below this one should be removed.
The remaining two stems should be twined
around the vertical string support as the plant
grows.
If very vigorous plants grow above the top of
the stake system, they may need to be
topped.
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