Blossom rot on tomatoes: treatment with folk remedies and drugs

Many gardeners and tomato farmers have had problems with the quality of the fruit, including the appearance of symptoms of dry rot - black dried spots on the top of the fruit or visible inside after cutting. This physiological disease causes serious crop losses. What causes the disease blossom end rot of tomatoes, measures to combat it, how to prevent the disease - this will be discussed in this article.

What is blossom end rot on tomatoes?

Blossom blossom is a disease of tomatoes, the causes of which are still debated by scientists. But no one doubts that this disease can destroy most of the crop. Such cases are known to everyone who grows tomatoes and who is affected by this problem.

The disease can appear both in open ground and in greenhouses. All types of tomatoes are susceptible to blossom end rot, regardless of the shape of the fruit, ripening time, or method of development. But it manifests itself differently in long-fruited and round tomatoes.

Signs of infection

Blossom rot occurs on tomatoes everywhere in protected soil; in open soil it is more common in the south. Signs of calcium deficiency can be noticed even before fruit set. Young leaves turn yellow, the apical part of the shoots is deformed, often bent into a hook, and in advanced cases it dies.

If you leave the bush unattended, the tomatoes will definitely develop dry rot. Moreover, the damage to the fruits will be pronounced, since they receive calcium last.

The signs of the disease are known, it can be easily identified even from a photo. A light spot appears on the top part of the tomato. At the initial stage, it may be whitish, yellow, or brown.

Over time, the affected area increases in size, darkens, and becomes depressed. Although the top turns brown, it remains firm and does not get wet. This is why the disease is often called dry rot of tomatoes. The fruit stops growing in size and quickly turns red.

Blossom rot can appear on tomato fruits at any stage of development. But most often, the first signs appear on tomatoes that have not yet reached half the expected size.

This is a description of blossom end rot caused by calcium starvation. But the disease has not been fully studied. Sometimes, with the same external signs, ordinary weeping rot develops, the tomato becomes watery, and it is impossible to remove it without tearing the peel.

Microorganisms, usually bacteria, are found in soft tissues. Scientists have still not come to a consensus - this is an infectious type of blossom end rot affecting the pulp, or a pathogen has simply invaded the affected area.

Naturally, with wet rot the fruit can only be thrown away. If the affected area is dry, you can cut it off and eat the tomato. It will not bring harm, but it will not bring pleasure either. The taste of such fruits leaves much to be desired.

Why it occurs, reasons

The basis for the occurrence of blossom end rot of tomatoes is the inability of the trunks and leaves (vegetative organs) of tomatoes to transfer calcium to the fruit - an element that is needed to build the cells of the outer and inner membranes of tomatoes. Calcium balances the ratio of all nutrients entering the plasma of tomatoes. The cause of the imbalance may be a lack of calcium in the soil in a form accessible to plants, acidic soil reaction or drought in the area of ​​tomato roots.

If, under conditions of intense evaporation in hot weather, plants do not receive enough moisture to move (transport) minerals from the soil into plant cells, then calcium, which may even be in excess in the soil, will remain in the roots, stems and leaves and will not get into the fruit. Irregular watering, unbalanced, untimely feeding of tomato bushes can lead to the fact that the disease begins to develop even at the stage of ovary formation.

The appearance of necrotic spots on the top of the fruit can result from: damage to the root system of tomato bushes; sharp changes between day and night air temperatures and contrasting watering, weakening the immunity of plants; excess nitrogen, potassium and magnesium fertilizing of tomatoes.

Causes

It would seem why apical necrosis appears on tomato fruits, because there is plenty of calcium in nature. It is contained in the soil, water from a well and a water supply system, which is usually used to water tomatoes in open ground or greenhouses - not every site has a filter unit. Dry rot, although uncommon, can occur even on calcareous soils.

Most often, apical lesions of fruits on tomatoes and other nightshades appear not due to a lack of calcium, but due to an imbalance of nutrients. But some gardeners believe that manufacturers came up with specialized fertilizers for different crops in order to earn more money. Meanwhile, agrochemistry is a science.

If a gardener does not want to buy specially balanced fertilizers for each crop separately, you need to independently study its needs and the characteristics of the interaction of nutrients. And don’t thoughtlessly sprinkle what you have on the farm under tomatoes and other plants.

The role of potassium and wood ash in the occurrence of blossom end rot

If gardeners have sorted things out a little with nitrogen, and no longer pour green fertilizers or mullein infusion anywhere and anytime, then ash continues to be considered completely harmless and safe. But it is its excessive use that often causes rot to appear on tomatoes.

Potassium is a calcium antagonist that prevents its absorption by plants. In order for both substances to be absorbed normally, their balance must be 1(K):0.7(Ca). That is, for every kilogram of potassium added to the soil, 700 g of calcium is needed. Moreover, both elements must be in an easily accessible form.

It happens that tomatoes start to get sick only because too much ash has been added to the soil. The result is an imbalance between potassium and calcium, the crop is dying, and the owners do not understand the reason - caring for the tomatoes was ideal.

Advanced gardeners may argue that the already mentioned ash is a source of both potassium and calcium. Moreover, when burning most plant residues, the balance of these elements is close to ideal.

If there are no problems with potassium, it is well absorbed by plants, including tomatoes, then with calcium the story is completely different. In the same ash it is contained in a hard-to-reach form. And it is released slowly, often over several years. The tomato immediately receives the dose of potassium contained in the ash. Calcium will begin to act, at best, the next season.

What else interferes with calcium absorption?

It is not only the high potassium content in fertilizers or soil that can hinder calcium absorption. The disease is caused by blossom end rot:

• soil salinization;
• damage to tomato roots;
• alternating periods of drought and waterlogging, especially dangerous when fruit is filling;
• excess nitrogen fertilizing;
• heat.

The first signs of defeat

Top rot on round-fruited tomatoes most often begins to appear in the area of ​​the flower scar, that is, in the place of the fruit that looks down when the tomato hangs down. It is this place that is the top of the tomatoes, and not the place where the stalk is attached. When talking about the onset of blossom end rot disease in tomatoes, gardeners mean the appearance of dark, spreading spots on the tops of green fruits. They can cover up to half the top of the tomato.

Gradually, the top of the fruit seems to be pulled inward. The shape of the tomato changes. The top becomes flattened. The necrotic spot grows and hardens. The tomato begins to turn red prematurely, shrink, and decrease in size. With increased air humidity, the affected areas begin to crack, and bacteria and fungi colonize them.

Tomatoes with elongated fruits suffer from hidden disease. Apical rot on them can be noticed by external signs when they begin to turn red ahead of schedule. Only after the diseased fruit is cut open will the blackened, dead flesh be revealed. Damage to the tops of all types of tomatoes can also occur if the fruits, which are already fully plumped, ripen while lying on the ground. Contact with the soil and the bacteria in it at high humidity causes wet, rotting spots to appear on tomatoes.

Fighting rot in the greenhouse

The air in the greenhouse is more humid than in the fresh air, so the rot begins to get wet, posing a threat to neighboring fruits. How to deal with blossom end rot on tomatoes in a greenhouse? To make the rot dry out, there are many traditional methods:

• spray with a solution of wood ash (1 cup per bucket of water);
• decoction of oak bark (boil 5 g in a small amount of water for 5-10 minutes, add to a bucket of water);
• soda solution (pour boiling water over 10 g, dilute in a bucket of water);
• lime milk (1 g per bucket of water);
• ventilate the greenhouse.

For weeping blossom end rot on tomatoes in a greenhouse, you can use a preparation such as Bordeaux mixture.

Instead of fighting the described disease, it is better to take preventive measures and then you will enjoy a good harvest every year.

What to do and how to deal with blossom end rot

Several tomato clusters may be tied to a plant, and necrotic spots will appear only on individual fruits of the lower row. Therefore, it is necessary to apply preventive measures to prevent damage to the fruits of the upper clusters and treat the tomatoes of the lower tiers. The first diseased plants should become objects of close attention of gardeners.

Methods for localizing blossom end rot include foliar leaf spraying and root feeding with instant calcium preparations and folk remedies. In addition, all plants must be provided with regular watering. All fruits on which necrotic spots are found must be picked from the bushes and destroyed. The soil around the bushes must be free of weeds, and it must be loosened regularly.

Symptoms of the disease and photos of affected fruits

1. The tomato looks a little flattened.
2. Spots are visible on its skin: at first they are dark green, small, and over time they darken and increase in size. In hot, dry weather, the fruits feel hard to the touch, but if the humidity is high, the spots soften and the rotting process begins earlier. The lesion has uneven boundaries.
3. Over time, the surface of the spot wrinkles, the branch withers, the fruit turns red (and does not increase in size) and falls off.

First of all, blossom end rot affects fruits growing on the lowest cluster.

Here you can see how tomato fruits affected by the disease look in the photo.

Blossom rot on tomatoes: treatment with folk remedies

Tomato bushes are relieved of calcium starvation using an ash solution or oak bark infusion.

The composition of wood ash varies depending on the soil on which the plants grew, but calcium is always present in it to one degree or another. Tomatoes are sprayed on the leaves, ash liquid is applied to the clusters with the filling fruits.

First, prepare the ash extract. To do this, sift 300 g of ash and pour boiling water (1.5-2 l). The mixture is kept over low heat for about 30 minutes and filtered through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. The volume of liquid is adjusted to 10 liters. Spraying is carried out several times with an interval of 5-7 days.

Oak bark contains up to 78% calcium. To prepare the infusion, use 2 tbsp. chopped fresh or dry bark. The bark is poured with 0.5 liters of boiling water, the mixture must be boiled for 15 minutes. Before use, it is filtered and diluted with 10 liters of water.

Why do tomatoes suffer from blossom end rot?

The main cause of the disease is improper agricultural practices.

Causes of blossom end rot.

1. Lack of microelements, especially calcium. Calcium is part of the cell walls of the skin of tomato fruits, and if it is deficient, they become deformed and destroyed. Lack of the element occurs in highly acidic soils and peat bogs.
2. Boron deficiency. Boron is a trace element, but if it is deficient, the absorption of calcium is significantly reduced. The lack of both elements inevitably leads to the appearance of blossom end rot on tomatoes. It is especially common in acidic soils.
3. High temperature with insufficient soil moisture. In the northern regions, this factor leads to blossom end rot only in greenhouses. In the south, drought and heat provoke the appearance of the disease both in open and protected ground. When it is hot and there is no watering, water and nutrients flow from the fruits to the leaves and stems. Tissues, lacking fluid, dry out and die.
4. High acidity of the soil, which prevents the absorption of calcium. As a result, a thin cell wall is formed, which is then destroyed.

In the northern regions it is more common in greenhouses; in the south, the frequency of its occurrence in open and protected ground is the same.

Signs of defeat

During drought and heat, mainly the tomatoes of the first three clusters are affected. In acidic soils and with a lack of calcium, tomatoes become diseased on all bunches as they set.

Only green tomatoes are affected by blossom end rot. At the top of the fruit (where the flower was) a watery dark green spot appears, which quickly darkens, the tissue dries out, is pressed into the fruit and hardens. Over time, the spot becomes brownish-brown in color. Depending on the strength of the damaging factor, the spot may be small at the very top of the tomato, or it may grow, covering up to half of the fruit.

Diseased tomatoes stop growing and ripen quickly. Sometimes the disease occurs in a latent form. There are no external signs of the disease, but the cut shows browning or hardening of the tissue at the top of the tomato.

In large-fruited varieties, a ring more often appears at the top of the fruit, which, gradually growing, turns into a spot. The tissue inside it is pressed in, the top of the fruit becomes lumpy and gradually darkens. But if bleached tomatoes become sick, the ring stops growing.

Bleached tomatoes do not consume nutrients, so the disease does not progress. Such fruits can often be seen in stores. They are edible; you just need to cut off the top of the fruit.

How it spreads

The non-infectious form of the disease affects fruits on one plant and it is necessary to work to eliminate the causes that caused its development. After fungal spores settle on the affected areas and become infected, the fruits become spreaders of the disease to neighboring plants and soil.

Treatment with calcium chloride

Tomatoes react poorly to preparations containing chlorine. Therefore, treatment with calcium chloride is carried out only in the absence of other means of treating blossom end rot. For treatment, a 1% solution of calcium chloride is required, that is, to 1 liter of water = 1000 ml you need to add 10 g of 100% calcium chloride. This concentration of the solution is used for root feeding, 200-250 ml per plant.

The cost of such treatment will be quite high, because pharmacies offer a 10% solution of calcium chloride, packaged in 10 ml - per 1 liter of water you need to add 10 pieces of such ampoules to get a 1% solution of calcium chloride.

Foliar feeding is carried out with the beginning of intensive growth of tomatoes, no more than once every 4 days. Use a 0.3-0.4% solution of calcium chloride. Treatment must be carried out using sprayers with a fine spray of moisture so that water falls on the leaves and fruits in the form of a mist, and not in dripping drops.

Prevention of rot on tomatoes

During drought, the best prevention of blossom end rot is drip irrigation. The tomatoes do not experience a lack of moisture, and, at the same time, there are no sudden changes in soil moisture that negatively affect the ripening of tomatoes. If the cause of the disease is a lack of moisture, then with drip irrigation it will never appear.

Proper watering also prevents the occurrence of disease. In the south, in hot weather, tomatoes are watered in a greenhouse every 2-4 days. The main criterion is that the soil dries out by 3-4 cm. You can determine the humidity by sticking a stick into the ground to a depth of 5-6 cm. If the earth sticks to it, then the soil is moist and watering is not required, but if the stick is covered with dust or the earth sticks only to at its end, it is necessary to water.

Acidic soils are deoxidized by applying lime fertilizers in the fall. The only exception is the fluff. It gives a quick but short-term effect, so it is applied in the spring when digging up a greenhouse or future tomato plot, but before planting seedlings.

Calcareous soils are not limed, since calcium is found in excess there, and its additional application only increases the alkalinity of the soil. The disease occurs due to the fact that it is contained in a form inaccessible to plants. Here, when planting seedlings, 1 teaspoon of eggshells or ash is added directly to the hole.

Treating tomatoes with baking soda, as some recommend, is useless. It does not contain calcium, which is so necessary for treating tomato rot. All it contains is sodium and carbonic acid, which tomatoes do not need. The effect of such treatment is zero.

Treatment of blossom end rot on tomatoes with calcium nitrate

To treat blossom end rot of tomatoes, calcium nitrate is used simultaneously with potassium carbonate (potash) or potassium sulfate. 2 tablespoons of the selected drugs are diluted in one 10 liter bucket of water. Root feeding is carried out at the rate of 200 ml per bush.

The soil is pre-moistened, it is necessary for the plants to absorb water and the turgor of the leaves to allow substances to move into the fruits. After fertilizing, another small watering is carried out so that the minerals sink along with the water to the roots of the plants.

For leaf feeding, use a solution of 10 g of saltpeter in 10 liters of water. Plants need foliar feeding no more than 2 times a week.

Treatment

The fight against blossom end rot on tomatoes often does not give the desired effect. And not because it is difficult to cure. You just need to first find out the cause of the problem, and then eliminate it - adding calcium to the root or along the leaf may be useless. Sometimes the soil is oversaturated with limestone or dolomite flour, but there is no point.

Measures to combat blossom end rot must be comprehensive. Simultaneously with leaf-by-leaf treatment, to quickly eliminate calcium starvation of tomatoes, you need to feed the bushes at the root. And also take measures to eliminate the causes contributing to the development of the disease:

• adjust watering;
• improve the soil.

Often in hot summers, blossom end rot of tomatoes develops in a greenhouse, and their treatment directly depends on whether the owners can lower the temperature. Without this, it will not be possible to save the fruits remaining unaffected by the disease.

When ventilation does not help, the glass is whitened or the crop is protected in another way.

In open ground, special nets are used to reduce temperatures. They are not cheap, but they last for many seasons.

About the features of foliar feeding

When you water the soil with fertilizers, that is, feed them at the roots, the nutrients are absorbed slowly. If you spray plants leaf by leaf, the effect will be quick.

But tomatoes have too thick skin to allow enough nutrients to penetrate inside. Most of them remain on the fruits in the form of plaque, and are then washed off when watering or rain.

Of course, there are also leaves through which calcium enters the tomatoes quite quickly. But what to do when this method takes too long and rot has already begun to appear?

You can buy the inexpensive drug Dimexide at the pharmacy. By itself, it cannot protect tomatoes from anything. But it helps all the substances used in spraying penetrate inside the plant tissues. The working solution is prepared by adding 2 caps of Dimexide per 10 liters of water.

Drugs

Most drugs that contain Ca act slowly. Calcium nitrate works quickly, but it contains nitrogen, which is not at all needed by tomatoes affected by blossom end rot. By the time the disease manifests itself, the time for fertilizing with nitrates has passed, and they can aggravate this problem or cause other problems.

Calcium nitrate for blossom end rot is used in the following cases:

• plants have signs of nitrogen starvation;
• tomatoes do not lack nitrates, but one more feeding will not cause them much harm;
• when calcium deficiency is detected before the formation of ovaries.

For spraying, dilute 10-15 g of the drug in 10 liters of water. Each tomato should receive 1 g of calcium nitrate at the root. It is believed that 5 liters of solution should be poured under tall varieties, 3 liters is enough for standard varieties. It is in this amount of liquid that the fertilizer is diluted.

If the bushes are already overgrown, you need to choose another drug. Or pay attention to folk methods of combating crown rot - in this particular case they are no less effective.

Folk remedies

The description of how to treat blossom end rot with folk remedies includes fertilizers of natural origin with the same method of application. Can be used:

• dolomite flour;
• chalk;
• lime;
• eggshell.

But there calcium is in the form of carbonate, so that it starts working quickly, and not in the next season, the fertilizers need to be exposed to acid. Lemon vinegar won't work; it's better to use regular vinegar:

1. Pour a tablespoon of chalk or dolomite flour into a half-liter jar.
2. Carefully, add vinegar little by little. It will sizzle and foam. This is fine. The next portion of acid is added when the reaction becomes moderate.
3. When the mixture stops foaming, it turns into calcium acetate. It is diluted with 10-12 liters of water.
4. Tomatoes are treated against blossom end rot along the leaf and at the root.

Diluted acetate will not harm tomatoes. It will be absorbed by the plant itself and beneficial microorganisms. Soil acidification will not occur.

When choosing how to treat tomatoes against blossom end rot, you can use ash. But only if there is no excess of it in the soil, potassium fertilizers have been used for a long time, and the time has come to apply them. Before use, burnt plant residues are diluted in vinegar in the same way as chalk or lime.

What not to use

There are advertised methods for dealing with blossom end rot that can not only eliminate the disease, but also harm the tomatoes or the soil:

1. Soda. It’s better not to bring it into the garden at all. There's so much sodium in there that it could ruin the soil for years to come.
2. Calcium chloride. Firstly, you need a lot of it to treat blossom end rot, and secondly, nightshades do not like chlorine.

How to treat blossom end rot with soda and ash on tomatoes

Experienced gardeners claim that treating blossom end rot with soda is an unnatural remedy. After all, the composition of soda ash (sodium carbonate, otherwise anhydrous sodium carbonate) Na2CO3 will not add calcium either to the soil or to the plants. The formula for baking soda (sodium acid salt of carbonic acid) NaHCO3 indicates that there is no calcium in this substance either. Mixing wood ash and soda will also not lead to the expected result. Therefore, it is better to treat blossom end rot of tomatoes using an extract from wood ash without adding any type of soda.

Why it happens and how to treat tomato blossom end rot

Prevention

Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat. This also applies to the plant world. To prevent the occurrence of a fungal infection, a set of actions is used that affects the entire period of plant development:

1. Choice of variety. It is better to immediately take tomatoes that do not suffer from blossom end rot. It is worth abandoning crops with high growth vigor. The disease affects early-ripening and large-fruited tomatoes more often than others.
2. Disinfection before sowing. To prevent diseases, seeds should be treated with special solutions. 3% potassium permanganate is suitable; the seed is soaked in it for 30 minutes. Then you need to rinse it with water and dry it. Iron sulfate helps a lot. A solution is prepared; you need to take 1 gram of the drug per 1 liter of water. Dressing is carried out within 24 hours, after which it is necessary to dry the seeds.
3. Soil preparation. Tomato blossom end rot develops in soil with high acidity. The liming process using chalk, ordinary dolomite flour, and slaked lime helps a lot. As a preventive measure, you can add 200 grams of wood ash to each hole.
4. Rationing of watering. Timely saturation of the plant with moisture is necessary for the normal development of the crop. Drought reduces the resistance of tomatoes to diseases and disrupts metabolism. Since absorption of nutrients occurs at night, it is best to water in the evening. To retain moisture in the soil longer, you can use mulch.

Many gardeners encounter this disease when planting crops in arid regions where the soil is sandy and highly acidic. Correct application of preventive measures will help reduce the plant's susceptibility to diseases and help it develop normally.

Minor manipulations will minimize the risk of blossom end rot on tomatoes. Almost all the tools for this are available to any gardener and do not require additional costs. Taking care of the crop will allow you to harvest a rich and high-quality harvest.

Drugs that can be treated

If it is suspected that ripening tomatoes have become infected with a bacterial form of blossom end rot, the bushes and the soil around them must be treated with HOM, Kuprozan, and copper-containing agents such as Bordeaux mixture. To prevent blossom end rot, growth stimulants are used that make plants resistant to temperature changes, increase their ability to absorb moisture, and improve their growth in drought: “EGAFOL”, “MIR”, “GUMIFID”. The Israeli drug “Nutrivant PLUS” is recommended for leaf treatments at the rate of 30 g per 10 liters of water.

How is it developing?

Most often, this disease affects young plants in greenhouses, but it also occurs in open ground.
The first symptom of the disease is the appearance in the upper part of the fetus (in the area where the fetus is attached) of barely noticeable brown spots that are watery when pressed. Since this part of the plant is out of sight, pay special attention to it and regularly inspect it by lifting the brush.

Gradually, this spot turns brown, the skin on it dries out and hardens, becoming covered with microscopic cracks. For tomatoes with a protruding “nose”, the protrusion of the top is smoothed out, while for round tomatoes, the surface seems to be pressed inwards, concentric circles are clearly visible on it.

Meanwhile, quite violent processes are taking place under the skin: bacteria and fungi (peronospora, late blight, etc.) penetrate through the cracks into the pulp, which is why it begins to darken and rot, and at the same time, the seeds also rot.

The fruit affected by the disease visually ripens earlier than all the others : it turns red and falls to the ground. But you can’t eat them: neither fresh nor processed. It is also not recommended to collect seeds for subsequent sowing.

Preventive measures

• The fight against blossom-end rot begins with treating seeds with growth regulators or potassium permanganate to increase resistance to various diseases.
• Before planting seedlings, the soil is prepared by applying the necessary fertilizers and disinfecting the soil.
• Tomatoes are planted in such a way as to ensure the preservation of the root system, ventilation of the bushes, and not create intertwining of branches.
• Developing tomato bushes are provided with timely watering, which does not reduce the turgor (moisture content) of the leaves.
• To maintain soil moisture in the root layer, use vegetable or artificial mulch or drip irrigation.
• Plants should not be allowed to overheat; in extreme heat, shading shelters should be hung.
• It is not allowed to overfeed tomato bushes with organic fertilizers with an uncontrolled content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
• When soil acidity levels are elevated, liming is carried out.
• Complex fertilizers are applied to the root zone in a timely manner, ensuring the normal transition of plants from the vegetative stage to the fruiting stage.
• To grow seedlings, types of tomatoes that are resistant to blossom end rot are used.

Preventive measures to prevent infection

You can try to prevent any disease by performing a number of preventive measures.

Treatment and prevention of blossom end rot - video

Tomato seed material that is planted as seedlings is often affected by blossom end rot. In this case, disease prevention will be necessary.

First of all, you need to follow the irrigation regime, watering tomatoes in greenhouses regularly.

It is important to prevent stagnation of moisture in the soil, as well as periods of drought when the owners simply forget about watering. The soil in the tomato beds should be constantly moist. To do this, the next day after watering, it is recommended to loosen the tree trunks of the tomato bushes, and then cover them with a layer of mulch to prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.

Photo of loosening the trunk circle of a tomato bush

also need to promptly get rid of weeds in the beds.

When growing tomatoes indoors in a greenhouse, you need to carefully monitor the temperature and humidity.

In hot weather, greenhouses and greenhouses must be ventilated to reduce the air temperature.

Important!

Sharp fluctuations in temperature and humidity in greenhouse conditions are one of the main reasons for the appearance of blossom end rot on tomatoes.

Photo of a layer of mulch for tomatoes

Do not get carried away with applying fertilizers, especially those containing large amounts of nitrogen.

Tomatoes in greenhouses can be fed with mullein solution no more than twice a season, and the concentration of such a solution should be weak.

You can subject the seed material to the bubbling procedure. In this case, tomato seeds are placed in a vessel with water through which oxygen is passed. To do this, use an aquarium compressor at home. Oxygen bubbles should be small. To do this, oxygen can be passed through gauze. This procedure is carried out for 17-18 hours, then the seed material needs to be dried.

The most resistant tomato varieties to blossom end rot

According to reviews from vegetable growers who are faced with the problem of growing tomatoes in the heat with insufficient soil moisture, the varieties and hybrids of tomatoes “Lyana”, “Liya”, “Maisky”, “Rotor F1”, “Pharaoh F1”, “Rotor F1”, “Pharaoh F1” have proven themselves to be the most resistant to blossom end rot. Marfa F1", "Dubok", "Benito F1", "Lunar", "Volgogradsky".

Which tomatoes(tomatoes) are the most productive for open ground?

Blossom rot is a disease found not only on tomatoes, but also on peppers and eggplants. The causes of calcium deficiency in different plants differ little from each other. And methods of struggle too. The main way to treat this disease remains its prevention. Those who do not want to lose the harvest at the moment when the fruits have already set and are ready to ripen need to think in advance about the fact that blossom end rot most often occurs due to human fault, and prevent its occurrence.

Causes of the disease

The main cause of this physiological disease is an insufficient supply of calcium to the upper parts of plants and fruits, which can be influenced by many factors. This disease causes most problems when grown in summer, in hot weather, but can occur earlier in individual fruits in the first clusters.

The disease often occurs in unfavorable conditions:

• during drought;
• in the absence of ventilation;
• at very high temperatures.

Under these conditions, tomatoes, especially during fruiting, cannot obtain or absorb enough calcium. It happens that the soil lacks this element.

Let us consider the causes of the disease and provoking factors in more detail.

Growing tomatoes includes 3 phases of fruit development:

Tomato fruits are most sensitive to the apex in the first period after pollination, during intensive cell division. During this phase, insufficient calcium intake into the fruit leads to the onset of the disease and determines its development and manifestation in later stages.

Lack of water

Calcium plays an important role in the development of membranes and cell walls that make up the cellular skeleton of a plant. If dividing tissues are not constantly supplied with calcium, cell walls weaken and break down as the cells grow. As a result, the cells dry out and turn black. Calcium available to tomatoes in the form of the Ca2+ ion in plants is distributed only through conducting vessels along with water absorbed by the root system. Therefore, rot often occurs when tomatoes lack moisture.

At the first stage of the disease, the following may be observed:

• dark, thin tops of tomato bushes mean the plants received too little water;
• Another symptom is intense transpiration (evaporation of moisture) from plants without compensation by incoming water, causing leaves to wilt.

The reasons may be:

1. Insufficient irrigation and high temperatures (in hot summers the risk of this rot increases significantly).
2. Improper absorption of water from the ground through roots, for example due to:
   high soil salinity,
3. lack of oxygen in the soil,
4. diseases of the root system.

It is necessary to pay attention to the condition of the root system, strengthen it, and develop it if necessary. When sunny and warm days alternate with cold and cloudy days, a lack of oxygen may occur in the ground.

Lack of light

Light is a factor regulating the need for water in tomatoes. With intense sunlight, the demand for water increases. If the light intensity changes quickly, you need to react in time by correctly adjusting the watering of the tomatoes. Flooding of the root system of plants and, as a result, deterioration in soil saturation with air often occurs when watering is not reduced as the number of hours of sunshine decreases. Under such conditions, tomato roots cannot absorb and transport water well to the upper parts of the plant. This results in symptoms of dry rot.

The disease can also occur in weak tomato bushes, with thin shoots and leaves, if the plants have been too shaded for a long time. Such tomatoes, exposed to intense light and sudden changes in conditions, cannot properly conduct water, which leads to transpiration disturbances.

Imbalance of plant growth and development

The next cause of blossom end rot is an incorrect balance of tomato growth and development. When plants have many leaves and few fruits, the leaves compete with the fruits for calcium. This situation may arise in June - July, when after the first harvest period, several bunches of tomatoes remain on the bushes.

The easiest way to prevent such an imbalance is to reduce the number of leaves on tomatoes. But leaving too few leaves on tomatoes in the summer causes the plant to lose moisture, which can also promote rot. Therefore, leaf removal must be done very carefully.

Wrong fertilizer

The last cause of the disease is improper fertilizer:

1. using too low doses of calcium;
2. using incorrect proportions between calcium and potassium.

In practice, this is the rarest cause of this disease.

How to prevent defeat?

Prevention must be carried out if you want to reduce the risk of any unpleasant disease occurring in the garden. Blossom rot is no exception.

The set of preventive measures is broad, starting with seed treatment and ending at the stage of fruit harvesting.

Seed processing

1. The seeds are placed in a gauze bag and poured with a solution of potassium permanganate (3%) for 30-40 minutes, after which they are washed under running water and dried.
2. Next, etching is carried out with iron sulfate: 1 gram of the drug is dissolved in a liter of cool water. The seeds are poured into the container and kept for a day, after which they are dried again.

Instead of potassium permanganate, you can use succinic acid (17 ml per liter of water) or potassium sulfate.

Tillage

The beds must be generously covered with dolomite flour, chalk or lime (slaked lime perfectly reduces the acidity level). Remember the proportions:

• chalk - 50 g;
• lime - 200 g;
• dolomite flour - 300 g.

And when planting tomatoes in holes, pour 100 g of wood ash or soot into each hole. Ground heated to 50 degrees can be sprayed with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Fertilizer control

The preparations are applied to the soil according to the standards specified in the instructions . You cannot increase doses at your own discretion and you cannot violate the recommended feeding schedule. This is especially true for organic fertilizers, specifically bird droppings and cow manure. They are applied 2-3 times during the growing season, no more. Foliar feeding (for example, with limestone nitrate) is carried out a couple of times a week.

Proper watering

Watering is essential. The fact is that on dry days, tomato roots practically stop absorbing calcium. Under normal conditions, calcium is better absorbed at night, so it is better to water the seedlings in the evening.

It is useful to additionally mulch the top layer of soil with humus after each watering: literally 1-2 centimeters. It will allow moisture to stay in the soil longer.

A little trick will allow you to organize full watering. The bottoms of 1.5 liter plastic bottles are cut off, the lids are removed, and each container is placed in a hole so that the bottom rises 10-15 cm above the ground. Water through this design is supplied to the roots to the required depth.

Should I leave or remove fruits affected by blossom end rot?

It is believed that a fetus affected by this disease cannot be contagious to other fetuses, even in the same hand.

Precisely because a sick fetus is simply a victim of a lack of calcium, and if other fetuses have enough of it, they will not get sick.

Therefore, removing affected fruits is not such a mandatory measure. So if you don’t get out to the hacienda often and don’t have time to delete it, don’t worry.

However, putrefactive processes occurring in the tissues of a diseased tomato are also not very good and it would be better to remove such fruits, if possible.

How to treat tomatoes against blossom end rot, preparations

In addition to fertilizing, treatment with immunomodulators is very useful in the fight against rot.

They can also be used outdoors if the plants have been damaged by hail, cold rain or wind, sudden cold snap or drought.

In addition, such treatment increases resistance to infectious diseases.

Megafol

The drug stimulates metabolic processes, chlorophyll synthesis, and promotes rapid absorption of nutrition. The amino acids contained in the product transport nutrients and water into the cells.

After treatment with Megafol, tomatoes become more resistant to high and low temperatures, and the roots absorb water more intensively.

To treat open ground bushes, dissolve 25-35 ml of concentrate in 10 liters of water, for greenhouses - 15 ml for the same volume of water.

It is advisable to do 3-4 sprays with two-week breaks when signs of stress appear.

The first use for prevention is indicated 10-15 days after planting seedlings in the ground.

SWEET

The product accelerates the ripening of fruits and improves their quality - tomatoes accumulate more sugars and vitamin C, are stored longer and tolerate transportation better.

Can be used in conjunction with the drug Megafol.

2 treatments with a stimulant are allowed during the season, the last one should be at least 8-12 days before harvest.

Typically, the product is used immediately before coloring the fruit begins. For spraying, dissolve 20-30 ml of concentrate in 10 liters of water.

Gumifield (potassium humate)

A drug that reduces stress due to humic acids. Works even at low temperatures, a good remedy for restoring plants damaged due to drought.

Increases productivity, fruit quality, and disease resistance. Reduces the amount of nitrates in berries. Compatible with other anti-stress drugs.

Dissolve 1.5-2 g of powder in 10 liters of water. This working liquid can be sprayed on tomatoes three times a season.

Gumifield is also used for one-time watering of seedlings; in this case, add 0.5-1 g of the product to 10 liters of water.

If bacterial rot or fungus has developed on the affected fruits, even removing them does not guarantee that the disease will not spread to other tomatoes. Moreover, many microorganisms are able to overwinter in a greenhouse and even in open ground.

It is necessary to treat the bush with fungicides. But since blossom end rot is detected at the fruit growth stage, when it is undesirable to use chemicals, the best remedy for this would be biological products.

Fitosporin-M

Bacterial fungicide, contains live spores of Bacillus subtilis, inhibits pathogenic microflora due to the waste products of this bacterium.

There are several types of the drug, all of them contain Bacillus subtilis strain 26 D, differing only in additives.

Directions for use:

• spraying bushes - dissolve 5 g of product in 10 liters of water;
• watering at the root – 10 g per 3 l;
• soaking seeds - 1.5 g per 1 liter.

Fitosporin-M for tomatoes contains microelements useful for this crop (zinc, magnesium, boron), as well as the immunomodulator and growth stimulator “Gumi”.

Fitolavin

A contact-systemic drug based on phytobacteriomycin. This is a natural antibiotic that is synthesized by soil bacteria streptomycetes.

The fungicide is compatible with Fitosporin, Baktofit, and Fitoplasmin.

In greenhouses, the drug is recommended for watering tomatoes. To prepare a solution, dilute 20-25 ml of concentrate in 10 liters of water.

Repeat the procedure every 15 days until the end of the growing season, but after watering, at least 2 days must pass before the fruits are removed from the bush.

For prevention purposes, do at least 2 treatments per season. Pour 100-200 ml of working solution under each adult plant, and 30-50 ml under a seedling bush.

Open ground tomatoes are sprayed with a solution of 15-20 ml of product per 10 liters of water. This volume should be used to process 1 hundred square meters. It is advisable to repeat spraying after 14 days.

Baktofit

Like Fitosporin, it contains Bacillus subtilis, but of a different strain - IPM 215. The action of the product is similar - the bacterium produces an antibiotic that suppresses harmful microorganisms.

The drug should not be mixed with fungicides, including Fitosporin, growth stimulants and fertilizers. It begins to act a day after application.

Baktofit is produced in the form of a powder or suspension concentrate. Dissolve 20 g or 20 ml in 10 liters of water and water the plants. Repeat watering every 7-10 days.

Trichodermin

It acts due to spores and waste products of the soil fungus Trichoderma. The drugs “Gliokladin”, “Trichoflor”, “Trichofit”, “Fito-M” have a similar effect.

Spray tomatoes with Trichodermin every 7 days. To do this, dilute 20-50 ml in 10 liters of water. The product can be used for soaking seeds - dissolve 30-50 ml in 1 liter of water and soak the seed for 20-40 minutes.

Another option for preventive use is soaking the roots of seedlings for 10-30 minutes in the same solution before planting.

The preparation is also suitable for application to the soil - during spring digging, pour 30-40 ml of the product onto each square meter of the bed, dissolving it in a volume of water convenient for irrigation.

Description of the disease

Tomato blossom end rot, also called black rot, blossom end rot, or crown rot, can lead to the loss of a third of the crop. The disease occurs in all regions where tomatoes are cultivated and appears both in greenhouses and in open ground.

The disease causes rot to form at the top of the fruit. The remaining parts of the plant develop normally, except in cases where blossom end rot is associated with root damage.

Affected fruits are not edible and are not suitable for preservation. But if the treatment is successful, the new tomatoes grown on the bush can be used for culinary purposes.

Symptoms usually appear on all plants at the same time, but this is not due to infection. Blossom rot is caused by stressful conditions and care errors, not pathogenic microflora.

However, there is a high probability of developing an infection due to the disease; bacteria and fungi easily penetrate plant tissue in the affected areas.

Disease prevention

It is much more effective to prevent the occurrence of a disease than to fight it. Prevention of blossom end rot is carried out throughout the summer season. It is very important to take into account the climatic characteristics of the region, as well as the fertility and chemical composition of the soil.

In addition, it is very important to properly care for tomatoes: water and feed them on time, rooting, treating with insecticides and fungicides, loosening the soil, etc.

The fact is that crown rot is not the result of an infection or fungus. In most cases, the disease is associated with improper care of plants and soil.

That's why:

1. Carry out regular loosening on heavy soils and with high groundwater levels.
2. Do not allow the soil under the tomatoes to dry out.
3. On heavy soils, carry out liming in the fall after the end of the dacha season.
4. Mulch tomato bushes.
5. Fertilize the soil on the site in spring and autumn.
6. Keep an eye on your tomatoes and conduct regular inspections for diseases and pests.