Tomato Rio Grande seeds is a determinate variety from Hortus that is grown as a short term crop. It yields large, blocky and pear-shaped clusters of tomatoes. This variety can be grown in containers, gardens, and open field. If outdoor container – Determinate variety like Rio Grande work best for open field farming.
Facts On Determinate Variety Tomato
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Determinate tomato variety seeds are also reffered to as bush type tomatoes, because they set fruits over about a 2-3 week period and then stop. It grows only 1 or 3 ft long, and the main stem and side stem produce about 3 flower clusters each. These makes them an excellent choice for canning.
Soil and Climatic requirement
- Tomato crop tolerates acidic soil, and prefers well-drained, fertile soil and soil rich in organic matter. Also clay-loam soils produces high yields, as tomato requires 6-6.8 pH for better uptake of nutrients.
- Majorly, fruit plants require a direct sunlight for better yield. Therefore, always select site with full sun.
- For the northern region, you may require up to 8 hr sunlight and 6 hr for the southern region. This generally helps help tomatoes thrive well.
Planting Instructions for Tomato Rio Grande
- Sow the seeds in beds about 0.5-1.25 cm depth.
- Treat tomato seeds in hot water about 50 degree celcius for 25 minutes. Dont allow water to be too hot, as it affects germination percentage.
- Seeds will germinate within 5-6 days after sowing. If soil temperature is poor it will take 12 days to germination.
- Transplant to the field or main bed 20-25 days after sowing.
- While planting tomato seedlings maintain plant spacing for better establishment of tomato crop.
- Row to row spacing 90 cm and plant to plant 45 cm.
- Generously do watering for the first few days, water well throughout the season.
- Mulching can be done after 5 weeks to retain soil moisture during hot season.
- Apply nutrient fertilizers 2 weeks prior to first picking.
- When fruits slightly change its colour to red from bottom, it means the fruits are ready for harvest. Ripen fruits are soft when compared to other fruits.
Common Pests and Diseases of Tomato Rio Grande:
Bacterial diseases like Canker, Speak and spots are common in tomato crop, damping off is epidemic disease in tomato this needs proper care before planting, and viral diseases like Tomato mosaic virus, Tomato spotted wilt virus and Tomato leaf curl virus are major pest and disease of tomato. Common Pests include; Leaf miner, Fruit borer, leaf-eating caterpillar.
Do’s and Don’ts in Tomato cultivation
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Do’s
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Don’ts
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Pinch the initial flowers to get more yield in long term. It encourages vegetative growth with more branches, each branch bear 3 flowers.
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Transplanting 25 days after sowing will not help your crop get acclimatized to your pots or beds.
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Add a bit of Epsom salt.It is a Magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is a power house of photosynthesis in plant. Chlorophyll captures sunlight only in presence of Magnesium. This is required to give leaves their green colour.
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Applying more fertilizer leads to more vegetative growth than reproductive. Therefore, you get only foliage not flowers and fruits.
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Mulch the plant if watering from above. This will help to prevent soil splash, as well as hold water for plant.
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Watering from aboveand trying to use hoes to prevent soil splash to stems and other part of plant makes the crop prone to diseases.
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Transplant seedlings to be very deep till it cover neck. It helps to grow great root systemn and better productive roots.
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Sowing the seeds when soil temp is 10 degree Celsius may make surface soil feel warm but 6 inches down the soil will still be quite cold. Seeds won’t germinate. Or plant won’t survive.
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Stake in the beginning of the plant to avoid root damage later.
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