Iodine for tomatoes: How can you tell if tomatoes lack iodine? What kind of iodine is needed? Effective recipes

For a good, and most importantly healthy harvest, it is necessary to fertilize tomatoes. The best fertilizer is without chemicals. Iodine is found in every home and if you use the right proportions, it will be an indispensable assistant in the garden.

Tomatoes are traditionally the most popular cultivated plant among vegetable growers. They are grown in any climatic conditions in garden beds, in film tunnels or in greenhouses. Moreover, in addition to traditional care (watering, fertilizing, loosening), vegetable growers often have to fight pathogenic microorganisms or harmful insects.

But not all summer residents use chemicals because they believe that such products are harmful to cultivated plants and soil, so they use time-tested folk recipes that use harmless substances that are found in almost any home.

One of these means is iodine, which not only serves as a supplement, but also perfectly helps to cope with diseases and pest attacks.

How to understand that tomatoes lack iodine

Experienced vegetable growers claim that of all the vegetable crops grown in garden plots, tomatoes require the most iodine. And they actively absorb this element from everywhere - from the soil, air, and irrigation received. But it’s difficult to say how much exactly tomatoes need this microelement per day, so you need to carefully monitor the appearance of the bushes of this vegetable plant in order to immediately add fertilizer with iodine to the soil.

Symptoms of iodine deficiency in tomatoes may be as follows:

low yield (with normal care, and if the gardener is confident in the variety and seed material);
ripe fruits – smaller than expected size;
bushes grow too slowly;
plants weaken and are therefore susceptible to various diseases and attacks by harmful insects;
fruiting occurs later than expected;
stems are thin and frail;
the foliage is limp and its color is pale.

Signs of iodine deficiency in tomatoes

Tomato bushes will show by their appearance that the soil lacks the above element.

The main features are:

pallor and wilting of leaves;
thinning of stems;
formation of spots on ground organs;
development of fungal diseases;
formation of a small number of ovaries;
the appearance of fruits with faded skin;
delay in growth and development.

What iodine do tomatoes need?

For normal growth of tomato bushes and active fruiting, a diluted alcohol tincture of iodine is used in doses that are usually indicated in recipes for preparing such fertilizer.

Iodine is very important for tomatoes, as it is both an essential fertilizer and also has antifungal, antimicrobial and antiviral effects. This microelement also improves the process of nitrogen metabolism in tomato bushes; as a result, the amount of nitrates in the fruits and foliage of this vegetable plant is significantly reduced.

Pros and cons of using iodine

Positive aspects of using iodine for processing tomatoes:

seed material germinates faster;
the immunity of tomatoes is strengthened;
when adding iodine, nitrates do not accumulate in plants, as when fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers;
seedlings take root better and faster in a new place;
ovaries are formed in a larger volume;
tomatoes are better able to withstand negative weather conditions;
pathogenic bacteria, including fungi, are destroyed;
the product effectively copes with diseases on tomato bushes;
tomatoes ripen faster;
the resistance of plants to sudden drops in temperature and periods of drought increases;
Yield levels increase.

This fertilizer has no particular disadvantages if the dosage of the drug is observed, especially in greenhouse conditions.

Advantages and disadvantages

Let's talk about the pros and cons of iodine-based fertilizer:

First the advantages:

Availability of the active substance;
Efficiency;
This is an assistant in the fight against fungal diseases;
The drug actively interacts with other substances, which allows you to create an effective complex remedy.

And now the disadvantages:

Difficult to dose without a dropper;
The danger of excess iodine in the working solution;
It is effective only in cases of iodine deficiency and does not replace other supplements.

It is not always possible to water and sprinkle with iodine fertilizer

Tincture of iodine is used to fertilize tomatoes “under the root” and “on the leaf” a certain number of times per season, since exceeding the amount of this microelement in the soil and in plants can negatively affect the condition of cultivated plants.

In rainy weather, tomato bushes should not be treated with iodine leaf by leaf, since the iodine is washed away by raindrops, and as a result, foliar feeding will be ineffective.

Tomato bushes transplanted to a new location should not be sprayed with this product for 10 days while the plants adapt after transplantation.

It is unacceptable to treat tomatoes with iodine tincture in damp, cold weather.

If an excess of iodine is noticeable on cultivated plants, you should temporarily stop adding this microelement to the beds.

Recipes for feeding seedlings with iodine

There are many different recipes to effectively help tomatoes grow. Home conditions allow you to prepare all the most proven recipes. Let's look at the most basic of them:

Milk (preferably not very fat), liter, dilute eight drops of pharmaceutical iodine in it, use a solution to accelerate the growth of tomato seedlings;
The use of whey in the solution will help stop the development of certain microorganisms; this is done with the help of lactic acid bacteria. Used for root watering of plants. Take water, 4 liters, whey, 1 liter and 15 drops of iodine, everything is mixed. This solution is used up to three times throughout the season. One bush requires from half a liter to a liter of solution, depending on the size of the plant.
It can also be used for external treatment of leaves with the following composition: 1 glass of fermented milk product, 2 liters of water and 3 drops of tincture. Carry out standard spraying.
Recipes using boron are used for tomatoes: for strong plant immunity, high ripening speed, increased number of inflorescences, higher fruit sugar content (important if you pickle tomatoes) and to improve the absorption of other substances necessary for the plant.
For watering the roots: milk - 200 ml, iodine - 3 drops, water - 3 liters. Three times throughout the entire season, pour half a liter of solution under each bush.
If plants are affected by cladosporiosis, which looks like brown spots on the leaves, it is necessary to treat them. The solution itself: 40 drops of iodine, 30 grams of potassium chloride, 10 liters of water. A necessary condition is that tomatoes should be processed every other day.
In order to have a fruitful year, you need to think about how to protect plants from insects. To treat the outer part of the plant - 2 liters of water, a glass of warm milk and 1 cube of iodine drawn into a syringe.
To prevent insect control, the roots of the plant can also be treated by watering. 15 drops of iodine per 10 liters of cold water. For one bush, one liter of solution.

For root and foliar feeding, there are different recipes for preparing the solution.

It is probably difficult to say how many other recipes using iodine exist. After all, every owner of his land, on which he plants something, has his own super solution for treating plants, proven over the years.

Application methods and rules

Typically, tomato bushes are treated with iodine solution by watering at the root or spraying on the leaf. For better effectiveness of such fertilizing, they should be carried out alternately.

Watering

Tomato bushes negatively perceive increased soil moisture in the root zone, so it is recommended to fertilize with iodine strictly at the root.

The working fluid for such additional feeding is prepared as follows: 40-47 drops of 5% iodine tincture are dissolved in a bucket of water. Tomatoes are watered with this solution after they are transplanted to a permanent place. 500 ml of this fertilizer should be applied to each plant.

This fertilizing should be re-applied no earlier than after 20-28 days.

Spraying

Foliar fertilization of tomatoes with iodine is usually carried out when plants develop symptoms of a lack of this microelement - yellowing of the foliage, the appearance of spots on it, and it is necessary to quickly apply the necessary fertilizer.

When fertilizing is applied along the leaf, the fertilizer immediately penetrates into the plant tissue and spreads faster throughout the tomato bushes, eliminating the shortage of necessary elements.

To prevent plants from getting burns on the green mass, the concentration of the solution should be reduced by dissolving no more than 5 drops of 5% iodine solution in 1 water.

How to use iodine for tomatoes in different growth phases

Tomatoes are treated with iodine at different stages of their growth, but this is done in different ways.

Seed treatment

To disinfect, tomato seed material should be soaked in an iodine solution before planting. It is prepared in the following way: dissolve 2 drops of iodine in a liter of water. Tomato seeds need to be kept in this working liquid for 30 minutes and then they can be planted as seedlings.

Seedling

If vegetable growers are going to feed tomatoes with iodine at the seedling stage, then the concentration of such a working solution should be much less - only 10 drops of 5% iodine tincture are dissolved in a bucket of water.

Important! Tomato seedlings are fed with iodine tincture when at least 6 true leaves appear on them.

Treatment after transplantation

After transplanting the seedlings to a permanent place, they need to be given time to completely acclimatize in the new place and take root. Therefore, feeding with iodine should be carried out no earlier than 14-16 days after transplantation. In this case, the tomato bushes are treated at the root.

The solution for this treatment is prepared as follows: 4 drops of a 5% iodine solution are dissolved in a bucket of water.

In this case, 1000 ml of such working fluid is added to each plant.

During flowering for the ovary

During flowering, tomato bushes are also fed with iodine so that ovaries form more actively on the plants. In this case, it is enough to dilute 4-5 drops of iodine tincture in a bucket of water, and pour a liter of such a working solution under each bush.

Feeding during the formation of the ovary

Next time, iodine should be added to the tomatoes when ovaries begin to form on their bushes.

To prepare the working fluid, dissolve 5 drops of 5% iodine tincture in a bucket of water. A liter of this solution is poured under each bush.

Feeding during the fruiting stage

When the fruits on the tomato bushes begin to ripen, fertilizing will be more difficult. This solution is prepared from a bucket of water, 200 g of wood ash and 5 drops of iodine. It is better to leave this solution for at least 12 hours, and then water the beds with tomatoes.

Foliar feeding

It is possible to supplement tomatoes with iodine by leaves. The solution is prepared from 1 liter of lukewarm water, into which 250 ml of skim milk and 5 drops of iodine tincture in alcohol are poured. In the morning or evening hours, spray the above-ground part of the tomato. Don't overdo it with irrigation.

Important! It is prohibited to increase the dose of iodine tincture - this provokes burns of tomato leaves.

Tomatoes need different fertilizers. A simple feeding of tomato seedlings is prepared at home with iodine - easy, cheap, and most importantly effective.

The timeliness and correctness of feeding tomatoes influence the susceptibility of crops to parasites and diseases, as well as the qualitative and quantitative indicators of the crop. Everything should be in moderation. Superfrequency feeding with iodine causes deformation of tomato fruits and brushes.

How to breed

When diluting iodine for treating tomato bushes, in no case should you exceed the indicated dosages. There are many recipes for such working solutions, and each vegetable grower will be able to choose the ones that are suitable for themselves.

Recipe 1

For such feeding, you need to heat the water and add a drop of iodine tincture for every 3 liters of such liquid. This fertilizing is applied only to wet beds.

Recipe 2 for three-stage root feeding

Stage 1 – at the seedling stage

To feed tomato seedlings, dissolve 4 drops of water in 10 liters of heated liquid.

Stage 2 – during the formation of ovaries

Dissolve 5 drops of iodine tincture in a bucket of warm water, and add 1 liter of this working solution under each tomato bush. But for low-growing tomato varieties, 700 ml of liquid is enough.

Stage 3 – at the fruiting stage

The solution is prepared as follows: 5 drops of the product in a bucket of warm water and another glass of wood ash.

Recipe 3 for protection against late blight

An iodine solution to combat late blight is prepared as follows: dissolve 5 drops of water in a bucket of water and leave for at least 5-6 hours. Tomato bushes are treated with this solution every 14-17 days.

Effective recipes

You can feed tomato bushes not only with a simple iodine solution, but also with fertilizers consisting of several components. Some of these recipes are presented below.

With milk

To prepare such a fertilizer, prepare the following solution: dilute a glass of farm milk and 3 drops of iodine in a liter of warm water. This working liquid is used to treat the vegetative mass of tomatoes in the morning or evening, when there is no bright sun.

With boric acid

A solution of iodine with boric acid increases resistance to diseases and attacks by harmful insects. To prepare the working fluid, you need to dissolve 3 kg of wood ash in 5 liters of warm water and leave to infuse for 90 minutes. Then another 7 liters of liquid, 10 ml of iodine and the same amount of boric acid are added to the resulting solution, mixed and left to infuse for 24 hours. Before processing the tomato bushes, the resulting infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.

Treatments with this solution are carried out in the spring after transplanting tomatoes to a new place, during the formation of buds and during active flowering. Spraying is carried out in dry weather in the morning or evening.

Other

There are many other effective tomato supplements that contain other ingredients besides iodine.

Kefir

To prepare a kefir-based fertilizer, mix the following ingredients: a bucket of water, 500 ml of kefir, 10 drops of iodine tincture. Processing of the vegetative mass of tomatoes is carried out in the morning or evening hours.

Zelenka

A solution with brilliant green is usually used to combat late blight. To prepare the working fluid, you need to mix 40 drops of brilliant green and 10 drops of iodine in a bucket of water. These drugs are usually measured using a pipette or syringe. The first treatment of bushes with this solution is carried out 12-14 days after transplanting the seedlings to a permanent place, and each subsequent treatment is carried out after a couple of weeks.

Potassium permangantsovka

Potassium permanganate can also be added to the iodine solution - 1 g of the drug per 200 g of liquid. This working solution has disinfectant properties, and also contains manganese and potassium, which have a positive effect on the growth and fruiting of tomato bushes.

Garlic

A mixture of garlic and iodine is another effective folk remedy in the fight against late blight. This working solution is prepared as follows: 20 g of iodine, 200 g of chopped garlic and 30 g of laundry soap are dissolved in 200 ml of water for better adhesion of the solution to tomato foliage. First, garlic is infused in 200 g of water (up to 3 days), then the solution is filtered, poured into a bucket of water and all other ingredients are added.

Yeast

A solution of iodine can be combined with yeast, which produces a fairly nutritious infusion. First, stir 5 g of dry yeast in 5 liters of warm water, add 1 tbsp. l. sugar and leave for several hours. Then 3 drops of iodine are dissolved in 5 liters of yeast infusion and the tomatoes are processed.

Serum

There is another recipe for feeding with whey. Dissolve a liter of whey, 15 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide, and 40 drops of iodine tincture in a bucket of water. This solution is used to treat the entire vegetative mass of tomatoes.

With potassium salt and superphosphate

This feeding is very effective during the formation of ovaries on tomatoes and the further ripening of fruits. To prepare a working solution, dissolve 10 drops of iodine, 1 tbsp. in 10 liters of water. l. potassium sulfate and 1 tsp. superphosphate.

This solution is applied strictly at the root of the tomato bushes, 500 ml of the product is added under each bush.

With ash

A similar solution of ash and iodine strengthens the immunity of tomato bushes, thanks to which this vegetable crop practically does not get sick and is not affected by pests. To prepare the working fluid, dissolve 3 kg of ash in 5 liters of water and leave for 90 minutes. Then the solution is filtered, the volume of liquid is adjusted to 10 l and 10 ml of iodine is added.

How to treat tomatoes with iodine against diseases and pests, recipes

Iodine can protect tomatoes from many diseases.

With whey

You can replace milk with whey, but the proportions and application will be slightly different.

For 10 liters of warm water, take 10 drops of iodine and 1 liter of whey. Everything is diluted in one container and processed by spraying tomato bushes. This treatment protects plants from fungal infections that cannot tolerate an acidic environment.

With brilliant green

This combination is very effective against fungal infections.

The concentrate is prepared at the rate of 1 teaspoon of iodine, 2 teaspoons of brilliant green, 2 teaspoons of water. Apply the resulting liquid with a brush to the stem (10 cm up from the ground).

Treatment is carried out three times at intervals of a week.

With kefir and hydrogen peroxide

Combined remedy for late blight. Spraying is required every other day for 7 – 10 days.

How to breed:

A ten-liter bucket of water requires 40 drops of iodine, a liter of kefir and a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.
Mix everything and treat diseased plants 5 times in 1 week.

ON A NOTE. To increase processing efficiency, add a crushed head of garlic to the liquid.

With soap and serum against powdery mildew

Powdery mildew does not often affect tomatoes, but if you see the first signs of its appearance, carry out this treatment.

10 liters of water are diluted with a third of laundry soap (pre-rub). Add 10 drops of iodine and pour in a liter of acidity. Everything is mixed and sprayed daily for a week.

With potassium chloride

For treatment: 10 liters of water, half a teaspoon of iodine and the same amount of potassium chloride. Spray once every 2 days.

Features of use in open ground and greenhouses

There is no rain in the greenhouse, so it is important to fertilize with iodine “at the root.” And in garden beds, it is enough to spray the tomato bushes leaf by leaf, and the rain will wash the iodine from the foliage into the soil. As a result, in open ground only part of the foliar fertilizer will end up on the foliage and stems, but in greenhouse conditions such fertilizer will be completely absorbed into the vegetative mass of tomatoes. Therefore, feeding tomatoes “by leaf” in greenhouses is carried out 2 times less frequently than in garden beds.

In greenhouse conditions, various diseases, especially fungal diseases, occur much more often, because the room is closed on all sides. To destroy pathogenic microorganisms in greenhouses, it is necessary to carry out the following disinfection procedures:

A container of iodine should be hung on each support near the bushes;
the container must hang vertically;
open the lids so that the liquid begins to evaporate.

The evaporating liquid is actively absorbed by the vegetative mass of tomatoes. It is not recommended to frequently visit greenhouses during this period, since iodine in a volatile state negatively affects human health.

If after foliar feeding of tomatoes it rains in the beds within 12 hours, then spraying should be repeated.

Precautionary measures

When using iodine as a fertilizer for vegetable plants, you should follow certain safety precautions so as not to harm yourself or burn the tomato bushes:

The first watering should be done 6-8 days after transplanting the seedlings to a permanent place. In this case, water the soil, not the roots.
If brown spots begin to appear on the leaves and tomatoes, it means that the dosage of iodine was too high. In this case, you need to water the tomatoes more often to correct the situation.
If iodine solution is used in greenhouse conditions, then the greenhouses need to be ventilated more often.
You should not increase the dosage of iodine when preparing the working fluid, since a too concentrated solution can harm not only plants, but also gardeners.
In small doses, iodine is harmless, but even 3 grams of iodine can lead to death. Therefore, when working with it, you need to protect your respiratory system in order to prevent iodine vapor from entering the body, and keep iodine in places inaccessible to children.

Useful properties of iodine

Iodine is often recommended to be used as a fertilizer for various plants: vegetables, berries, flowers, fruits, herbs. It has a beneficial effect on the growth and development of plant crops, crop quality, and increased immunity. In addition, it is an antiseptic that destroys bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that cause various diseases.

In particular, iodine solution effectively prevents the development of such dangerous diseases as late blight, powdery mildew, rot of roots, fruits and ovaries, clubroot, mildew, and oidium. It is used for watering plants and for disinfecting seeds before sowing.

Did you know? The largest fruit in the world came from a tomato plant grown by US farmer Dan McCoy. Its weight is 3.8 kg. The giant tomato even got its own name - Big Zack.

Useful tips and tricks for gardeners

Vegetable growers who have been growing tomatoes for many years share their tricks:

To better absorb nutrients, fertilizing with iodine should be applied to moist soil;
to prepare solutions you need to use only heated water;
to treat tomatoes leaf by leaf, you need to use a spray bottle with a fine grid so that the liquid falls on the foliage in the form of a cloud;
To prevent an overdose of the drug, you need to add an aspirin tablet for every liter of iodine solution.

For prevention

Gardeners often use the compositions discussed above for preventive purposes. They increase the resistance of tomatoes to various diseases, repel pests and nourish the sprouts with useful substances.

Treatment is carried out once every 3 weeks or only after planting; the soil and greenhouse are treated before placing the crop.

Common mistakes

Even experienced vegetable growers sometimes make mistakes when watering tomato bushes with iodine solution:

apply a similar fertilizer to dry soil. In this case, the roots of the tomatoes may get burned. Therefore, it is important to water first and apply fertilizing only to moist soil;
increasing the dosage of iodine leads to a chemical burn of the vegetative mass of tomatoes;
simultaneously fertilize tomatoes with iodine on the leaves and at the roots. In this case, there will be too much iodine and the tomatoes will get sick;
fertilizing is diluted with cold water and becomes less effective. Therefore, to dilute iodine you need to use heated water.

Reviews

Maria, 44 years old, Moscow region: I have been using iodine to feed tomatoes for many years. I noticed that my tomatoes practically do not get sick, they are growing actively, and the fruits ripen faster. I recommend that other summer residents use this drug in their garden beds.

Sergey, 50 years old, Saratov region: I water my tomatoes at the root with an iodine solution, and also periodically fertilize the leaves. As a result, my tomato bushes are always strong and healthy, and the yield is much higher than what is written in the annotations for the varieties.