“Another Crop Bites the Dust.” This time it is from the heat. Just this past week three tomato farmers called singing this sad song and asked why the tomatoes they planted in June don’t have fruit.
The short of it: They planted them too early and the plants started flowering during the heat and the flowers dropped off the plants. Timing is everything when it comes to vegetable crops, Their transplants should have been planted July 1 – 15, not in June. Right now, most folks’ beans and tomatoes that were planted at the right time are flowering and setting fruit, which is a critical time in the production of the crop.
Bean and tomato flowers are what I call “wimpy” and many environmental and cultural conditions affect their production, pollination, set, and eventual fruit production.
First, if anything adversely interrupts the growth of or stresses the plant their flowers dry up and fall from the plant, resulting in poor fruit set and yields. Some scenarios that may cause this are cold rainy weather, hot dry weather, poor fertilization, and excessively dry or wet soil conditions.
Next, anything that encourages over-vegetative growth will cause flower drop. This may be caused by excessive shading of the plants or excessive nitrogen fertilization. Many homeowners have bragged to me about their 10-foot-tall tomato plants and 4-foot-tall, dark-green bean plants, but usually when I get to questioning them actually very little fruit was harvested.
Beans and tomatoes are easy to keep in what we call the “vegetative state” by overfertilization resulting in over-growth and reduced fruiting. The plants grow tall and pretty but don’t yield.
Next, if minimal night temperatures are at or above 75 degrees the flowers will drop. Personally I can take and work outside all day in our excessive daytime heat if I can go home in the evenings and sleep and get refreshed in a cool bedroom. In past articles, I have mentioned how plants and people are similar in many aspects and this is one of those instances.
Beans and tomato flowers can take the daytime heat but without a little relief at night they do not set; they drop off, and do not produce fruit.
Finally, if anything damages the flowers even in a minimal way they will drop. Some scenarios that may cause this are excessive windy conditions, hard downpours, hail, and thrips feeding on the flowers. Yes, thrips, that same culprit that spreads the dreaded tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and forced everyone that wants a constant supply of tomatoes to grow TSWV-resistant tomato varieties like Amelia, Crista, Red Bounty, etc., also can reduce yields by damaging flowers.
In fact, thrips are attracted to flowers because of their color, aggregate in large numbers in flowers, and if you look closely the tiny thrips can be seen when flowers are torn apart. Many different insecticides containing pyrethroids (natural or synthetic), insecticidal soaps, insecticidal oils, Spinosad, etc., will control thrips. Remember to read and follow all label directions -- they are the law.
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August 30, 2020 at 11:30AM
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TONY MELTON: Timing’s everything for vegetables - SCNow
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