A tomato cultivar fertigation program and foliar spray program combined Hygrotech and Miller products during the production of greenhouse tomatoes in the Ermelo district in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The combined treatments were allocated to a greenhouse of 300 m2 and was compared with the standard treatment used in the other greenhouses. Below is a summary of the tomato variety and products used.
TOMATO CULTIVAR INFORMATION
- Name: HT 1722 (F1 hybrid)
- Type: Truss/ Loose/ Pre-packer
- Days to maturity: 80 – 90
- Fruit shape: Medium large rounded/ slight flat top
- Fruit weight: 150 – 170 g
- Pest and disease resistance: Verticillium, Fusarium 1 & 2, Nematodes, Tomato yellow leaf virus and Tomato spotted wilt virus.
Tomato cultivar fertigation program resulted in uniform fruit size per truss and within different trusses impressed where tomato plants were treated with Hygrotech and Miller products.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
- Growing medium: Sawdust (drenched with Sporekill at 100 ml/ 100 L water)
- Transplant date: 28 September 2023
- Transplant treatment: Asco-Gro (via fertigation) at 250 ml/ greenhouse.
- Pruning method: One stem
- Average day temperature: 27 °C
- Average night temperature: 12 °C
YIELD INFORMATION
The average fruit weight from tomato plants treated with the Hygrotech and Miller products were 182 g vs 147 g from fruit from the standard treatment. Uniform fruit size on the individual trusses also impressed.
(Written by Marinus Enslin – Hygrotech’s Technical Advisor)
