Tomato is important commercial vegetable crop of India and is second most important crop of world after Potato. Fruits are eaten raw or in cooked form. It is rich source of Vitamin A, C, Potassium and Minerals. It is used in soup, juice and ketch up, powder. The major tomato producing states are Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

It can grow in varied type of soil ranging from Sandy loam to clay, black soil and red soil having proper drainage. It gives best result when grown under well drained sandy soil with high organic content. For good growth pH of soil should be 7-8.5. It can tolerate moderate Acidic and saline soil. Avoid cultivation in high acidic soils. For early crops, light soils are beneficial where for heavy yields clay loam and silt-loam soils are useful.

Tomato seeds are firstly sown in nursery then they are transplanted in main field. For main field preparation, it required well pulverize and levelled soil. Plough land for 4-5times, then planking is done. At time of last ploughing add well decomposed cow dung@60kg/acre mix well in soil. Prepared raised bed of 80-90cm width for transplantation purpose.  

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Do frequent weeding, hoeing and earthing up and keep field weed free till 45days. If weed left uncontrolled then it will reduce crop yield up to 70-90%. Before transplantation, apply pendimethalin@0.4kg/acre in main field. If weed intensity is high, take post emergence spray of Sencor@0.2kg/acre. Mulching is also an effective way to reduce soil temperature along with weed control.

After transplantation, provide light irrigation for two-three days. In winter, apply irrigation with interval of 12 to 15 days and in summer month, apply with interval of 6-7 days depending upon soil moisture. Flowering stage is critical for irrigation, water stress during this stage can leads to flower drop and adversely affecting fruiting and productivity. According to various research, it is found that, half inch irrigation at every fortnight causes maximum penetration of roots and thus give high yield. Also, avoid excess irrigation. 

• Pest and their control:

Leaf Miner: Maggots of leaf miner feed on leaf and make serpentine mines into leaf. It affects the photosynthesis and fruit formation.

At initial stage, take spray of Neem Seed Kernel Extract@5%, 50gm/Ltr of water. To control leaf miner, spray with Dimethoate 30EC@250ml or Spinosad@80ml in 200Ltr of water or Triazophos@200ml/200Ltr of water.

White fly: The nymphs and adults of white fly suck the cell sap from the leaves and weaken the plants. They secrete honey dew on which black sooty mould develops on leaves. They also transmit leaf curl diseases.

After sowing of seeds in nursery, cover bed with 400mesh nylon net or thin white cloth. It helps to protect seedlings from pest-disease attack. To check infestation use yellow sticky traps coated with grease and sticky oils. To control spread of whiteflies, uproot and destroy affected plants. In case of severe infestation, take spray of Acetamiprid 20SP@80gm/200Ltr of water or Triazophos@250ml/200litre or Profenophos@200ml/200litre of water. Repeat the spray after 15 days.

Thrips: Commonly observed pest. Mostly observed in dry weather. They suck sap from the foliage and results in curling of leaves, leaves become cup shaped or curved upward. Also causes flower drop.

To check severity of thrips incidence, keep blue sticky traps @6-8 per acre. Also to reduce the incidence spray Verticillium lecani@5gm/Ltr water. If incidence of thrips is more, then take spray of Imidacloprid 17.8SL @60ml or Fipronil@200ml/200Ltr of water or Acephate 75% WP@600 gm/200Ltr or Spinosad@80ml/acre in 200Ltr water.

Gram Pod borer or Heliothis armigera: It is a major pest of tomato. Crop loss due to Helicoverpa is about 22-37% if not controlled at proper stage. It feeds on leaves also on flower and fruits. On fruits they make circular holes and feed on flesh.

In case of initial infestation, handpicked grown up larvae. At early stage use HNPV or Neem extract@50gm/Litre of water. To control fruit borer, Put 16 pheromone traps/acre at equal distance after 20 days of transplanting. Change lure in every 20 days interval. Destroyed infested parts. If pest population is high, spray Spinosad@80ml+sticker@400ml/200Ltr of water. To control shoot and fruit borer, spray Rynaxypyr(Coragen)@60ml/200Ltr water.

Mite: Is a serious pest and it may cause yield loss up to 80%. These are widely distributed pest observed throughout the world. It attacks on several crops like potato, chilli, beans, cotton, tobacco, curcurbit, castor, jute, coffee, lemon, citrus, blackgram, cowpea, pepper, tomato, sweet potato, mango, papaya, brinjal, guava. Nymphs and adults feed exclusively on the lower surface of the leaves. Infected leaves give cup shape appearance. Heavy infestation results in defoliation bud shedding and drying of leaves.

If Infestation of yellow mite & thrips is observed in field, spray of Chlorfenapyr@15ml/10Ltr, Abamectin@15ml/10Ltr or Fenazaquin @100ml/100Ltr are found effective. For effective control spray Spiromesifen 22.9SC(Oberon)@200ml/acre/180Ltr of water.

• Disease and their control:

Fruit Rot: Major disease of tomato and observed due to changing weather. Water soaked lesions are appeared on fruits. Afterwards they turn into black or brown color and causing rotting of fruits.

Before sowing, do seed treatment with Tricoderma@5-10gm or Carbendazim@2gm or Thiram@3 gm/Kg of seeds. If infection observed in field collect and destroy  infected fruit and leaves which lies on ground. Fruit rot and Anthracnose attacked mostly observed in cloudy weather, to control take spray of Mancozeb@400gm or Copper Oxychloride@300gm or Chlorothalonil@250gm/200Ltr water. Repeat spray with 15 days interval.

Anthracnose: Warm temperatures, high moisture are ideal condition for spread of this disease. It is characterized by black spots that are formed on infected parts. Spots are usually circular, water-soaked and sunken with black margins. The fruits with many spots drop off prematurely resulting in heavy loss of yield.

If Infestation of Anthracnose  is observed. To control spray Propiconazole or Hexaconazole@200ml/200Ltr of water.

Early Blight: Common and major disease of tomato. Initially small, brown isolated spots are observed on leaf. Later spots are seen on stem and also on fruits. Fully developed spots become irregular, dark brown color with concentric ring inside spots. In severe condition, defoliation occurred.

If infestation of early blight is observed, take spray of Mancozeb@400gm or Tabuconazol@200ml/200Ltr. Repeat spray 10-15 days after first spray. In cloudy weather, chances of incidence of early and late blight increases, As a preventive measure, spray with Chlorothalonil@250gm/100Ltr of water. Also sudden rain pattern aggravate blight and other diseases take spray of Copper based fungicides@300gm/Ltr+Streptocycline@6gm/200Ltr water to control blight disease.

Wilt and Damping off: Moist and poorly drain soil causes damping off disease. It is soil borne disease. Water soaking and shriveling of stem occurs. Seedlings killed before emergence. If it appears in nursery the entire lot of seedling may get destroyed.

To prevent root rot, drench soil with 1% Urea@100gm/10Ltr and Copper oxychloride @250gm/200Ltr water. To control wilt, drench nearby soil with Copper oxychloride@250gm or Carbendazim@400gm/200Ltr of water. Increased temperature and humidity due to watering facilitate fungal growth at roots, to overcome it, Apply Trichoderma 2 kg/acre along with cow dung near roots of plants. To control soil born disease, drench soil with Carbendazim@1gm/Ltr or Bordo mix@10gm/ltr, 1 month after that apply 2 kg Trichoderma /acre, mixed with 100kg cow dung.

Powdery Mildew: Patchy, White powdery growth appears on lower side of leaves. It parasitizes the plant using it as a food source. It commonly occurs on older leaves just before or at fruit set. But it can develop at any stage of crop development. In severe infestation it causes defoliation.

Avoid water lodging in field. Keep field clean. To Control spray with Hexaconazole along with sticker @1ml/Ltr of water. In case of sudden rain, chances of powdery mildew. Mild infestation take spray of water soluble sulphur@ 20gm/10Ltr of water 2-3 times with interval of 10 days.

Plant start yielding by 70days after transplantation. Harvesting is done depending upon purpose like for fresh market, long distance transport etc. Mature green tomatoes, 1/4th fruits portion gives pink color are harvested for Long Distance Markets. Almost all fruits turn into pink or red color but having firm flesh are harvested for Local Markets. For processing and seed extraction purpose, fully ripe fruits with soft flesh are used.

After harvesting, grading is done. Then fruits are packed in Bamboo baskets or crates or wooden boxes. To increase self-life of tomato during long distance transport pre cooling is carried out. From ripen tomatoes several products like Puree, syrup, juice and ketch up are made after processing.