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1. PRODUCTION OF GREENHOUSE TOMATO
PRESENTED BY : JATIN DANGI (TH-2021-20-BIV) / NITISH SHARMA ( TH-2021-27-BIV)

2. CLIMATE REQUIREMENT
Tomato is a warm season plant. It can not withstand with severe frost conditions. Temperature
and light intensity affect germination, vegetative growth, fruit set, pigmentation and nutritive
value of the fruits.
• Minimum temperature for germination of seeds range from 8° to the critical factor in fruit setting with the
optimum range of 10°C.
• Night temperature l6°C to 22°C.
• Fruits fail to set at 12°C or below.
• Ideal range for development of both red and yellow colour is 18-25°C.
Under greenhouse conditions tomato can be grown for long duration (10-12 months) by cooling during
summer months

3. SOIL
Tomatoes can be produced across a wide range of soils as long as drainage and
physical soil structure is good.
• Optimum soil pH is between 6.0-6.5, but crops can thrive well in soils with a pH of 5.0-7.5.
When pH drops below 5.5, the availability of magnesium and molybdenum goes down
and above 6.5, zinc, manganese and iron become deficient.
The soil based medium should be composed of 70% red soil, 20% well decomposed
organic matter and 10% rice husk.
• Growing medium of a greenhouse is generally pasteurized annually. This increased
frequency is occasionally necessitated due to the proliferation of disease causal
organisms in the greenhouse.
• Formaldehyde is a commonly used chemical to sterilize the soil medium. The
formaldehyde (37-41 %) used for sterilization should be mixed with water in 1:10
proportion and drenched at the rate of 7.5 lit for 100 ml.

4. Choice of varieties
Criteria for the selection of variety for greenhouse cultivation:
• Size of fruit desired.
• Disease resistance.
• Lack of physiological problems, i.e., cracking, cat facing, blossom end
rot.
• Yield uniformity.
• Market demand.

5. 1. Beefsteak cultivars
The cultivars of the beefsteak category produce large slicing type fruits weighing
around 180 to 250g. The fruits are generally harvested individually and usually packed with
calyx attached. These cultivars are very popular among greenhouse growers in almost all the
European countries and USA.
2. Big fruited cultivars:
The fruits of such cultivars usually weigh ranging from 80-150g and come in small to
medium clusters. Although, several cultivars have been developed for greenhouse cultivation
in Europe, USA, Turkey, Israel etc., but in India, there is a limitation of cultivars bred
exclusively for protected cultivation except few like Pant poly house tomato-1, Pant poly
house tomato hybrid-1. Otherwise, indeterminate cultivars from public as well private sector
are generally cultivated under protected conditions, list of which is given below.

7. Indeterminate/ Semi-determinate Hybrids/ Varieties in India

8. 3. Hand type or cluster type
These cultivars produce fruits in clusters of four to seven or even more and are
generally harvested and marketed with full cluster having fruits from breaker to ripe
stage.
The weight of single fruit of these cultivars is around 50-70g.
4. Cherry tomato
This category is getting plenty of attention from growers, as consumers are now a day
preferring such cultivars for table purposes. These are very small in size, may be round or
oval in shape and average fruit weight is 12-20 depending upon the cultivar. The cultivars
like NS574 (904), NS575 (907), NS 6438 (Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd.), Solan Red Round
(UHF, Nauni-HP), Laila, Sheeja, Roja, Ruhi [Known you seed (India ) Pvt. Ltd.]
5. Coloured tomato
More recently, the cultivars with outstanding flavoured and rich in antioxidants and
vitamin A are gaining importance among the greenhouse growers for better price. In this
category, brown and yellow coloured cultivars are available for cultivation.

10. Sowing time, nursery raising and spacing
Tomato can be grown throughout the year under greenhouse conditions but special
attention has to pay during off-season. Nursery for greenhouse tomato is raised under
protected structure, mostly in soil less media in plug trays to produce disease free and
mainly virus free seedlings. The ingredients of soil less media viz.,
cocopeat,vermiculite and perlite mixed in 3:1:1 ratio before filling the pro trays or plug
trays. Generally, plug trays with 98/104 plugs or small plugs are preferred for sowing
of tomato seeds.

11. Fertilizer management
The subject of fertility is probably among the most confusing for growers of
greenhouse tomatoes. The keys to a successful nutrition program include the following:
• Use fertilizer designed specifically for greenhouse tomatoes.
• Know how much of each fertilizer element is needed.
• Know how much is being applied.
• Check the electrical conductivity (EC) and pH levels.
• Be observant for signs that plants may be deficient or have an excess of a nutrient.
• If possible, monitor plant nutrient status by periodically taking samples for tissue
analysis.
The crop is fertigated with N: P: K at the rate of 25:12.5:12.5 kg per 1000 m 2 along
with farmyard manure (2t/1000 m 2 ). The fertigation was scheduled after 10-15 days of
planting at weekly interval. The common dose of micronutrient (G-5) at the rate of 5 kg
per

13. Irrigation management
If Drippers are at 30 cm distance with water Discharge Rate of 2 Iph, adopt the
following irrigation schedule for better results.

14. Training and pruning
For best production, prune tomato plants to a single stem, two stem or three stem by
removing all lateral shoots, commonly referred to as ‘suckers’. One sucker will form at the
point where each leaf originates from the main stem, just above the leaf petiole (stem).
Allowing all suckers to grow and bear fruit would increase the total number of fruit, but
they would be small and of poor quality. It is better to have one main stem (s) that bears
fruit, as this will produce larger, more uniform, and higher quality fruit.
Removing suckers once per week will keep them under control. Plants are trained vertically
along the supporting wire to exploit full potential of indeterminate varieties.
Cluster pruning will also improve size and uniformity. This involves removing small
fruit from some clusters, leaving three, four or five of the best ones. Remove misshaped or
deformed fruit first. Otherwise, remove the smallest fruit, which is usually the last one
formed on each cluster. Pruning is practised by farmers to enhance quality and increase
yield.

15. 1. Determine which variety you’re growing.
2. Locate the suckers for removal. Remove all
suckers and their leaves below the first
flower cluster.
3.
4. Leave the thicker shoots.
5. For indeterminate varieties, pinch off all
but four or five fruit bearing trusses.
6. Remove yellow leaves.
7. Top the plant
STEPS

16. Pollination
Tomato flowers have both male and female parts within every flower. Botanically,
these are termed perfect flowers. In the greenhouse, wind is not strong enough to shake
the flowers sufficiently to transfer the pollen. Even though the greenhouse is ventilated
with fans,on cooler days when the fans are not operating, the air is relatively motionless.
The optimum temperature for pollination is within the range 21 to 27 °C.
Optimum relative humidity is 70 percent. Above 80 percent relative humidity, pollen
grains stick together and are not dispersed well. With relative humidity less than 60
percent for extended periods, the stigma may dry out so that pollen grains will not stick
to it. Vibrate each cluster (not each blossom) for about half a second. This operation can
also be performed manually by shaking the plants gently in the morning hours, when
stigma receptivity and dehiscence are at their peak.

17. Disease and pest management
Powdery mildew (Leveillula taurica)
Damping off (Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Phytophthora, etc.)

18. Early blight (Alternaria solani, A. alternata f.sp. lycopersici)
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont) de Bary)
Bacterial wilt (Psendomonas solanacearum E.E. smith)

19. Serpentine Leaf Miner (Liromyza trifolii Burgess)
Greenhouse white fly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum)
Fruit Borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner)
Insect-pests

20. Yield and storage management
Harvesting of tomato fruits is a continual process throughout the growing season.
Generally, most of the varieties are ready for first picking in 75-85 days after transplanting.
The fruits should be harvested preferably early in the morning or late in the evening to
avoid
post harvest losses and are then graded, packed according to grades. Cherry tomatoes are
mostly harvested with stems attached or sometimes singly with calyx attached with the
fruits
and are packed in the containers of 400-500g capacity. On the whole, 25-30 tonnes of big
fruited tomatoes and 10-15 tonnes of cherry tomatoes can be harvested from 1000 m 2
greenhouse cultivated area.