Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) Tomato is one of the most important and popular vegetable in our country. It is botanically a fruit but considered as vegetable for culinary purposes. It is herbaceous annual plant belongs to the family, Solanaceae. It is widely grown in our country during winter season. At present, it occupies 25,000 ha of land and producing about 2.35 lac metric tons with an average yield of fruit about 9.39 t ha -1. Chittagong, Comilla, Sylhet, Jessore, Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur are the pioneer district of producing tomato. Tomato fruit is a good source of vitamin A and C. It contains most powerful antioxidant namely lycopene which prevent cancer. It has diverse uses due to its taste, flavor and nutritive value. It is used as curry, salad and side dishes. It acts as a promoter of blood purifier and stimulates torpid liver. Also used as raw materials in different agro-based industry for producing jam, jelly, soup, sauce, pickle and ketchup. Origin Tomato is said to be the native of tropical America especially Mexico. From tropical America it spread to other parts of the world in the 16 th century and it became popular in Indian subcontinent within the last six decades. Some of the scientists think that, the probable origins of tomato are Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Variety Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has so far developed 21 tomato varieties for both winter and summer season. Besides, many exotic, local and hybrid varieties are also grown in Bangladesh e.g. Mintoo Super, Mintoo F1, Pusa Ruby etc. The main features of the important BARI released winter and summer tomato varieties are given below- 1. BARI Tomato 1 (Manik) Fruits are semi long 25-30 fruits plant -1 Yield 85-90 t ha -1 2. BARI Tomato 2 (Ratan) Fruits are round and red in colour Plants are determinate habit 30-35 fruit plant -1 Yield 80-85 t ha -1 Life cycle 105-110 days Tolerant to Bacterial wilt 1
3. BARI Tomato 3 Fruits are often flattened and deep red in color Plants are determinate habit 10-32 fruits plant -1 Yield 85-90 t ha -1 Life cycle 110-115 days 4. BARI Tomato 4 Fruits are round and red in color Heat tolerant variety Can be grown throughout the year 20-25 fruits plant -1 Yield 20-22 t ha -1 Life cycle 90-95 days 5. BARI Tomato 5 Fruits are heart shape and red in color Heat tolerant variety Can be grown throughout the year 20-22 fruits plant -1 and yield 20-22 t ha -1 Life cycle 95-100 days 6. BARI Tomato 6 (Chaiti) Fruits are round and light red in color Ridge present partially on the fruit skin High yielding and heat tolerant variety Plants are indeterminate habit Can be grown throughout the year 30-40 fruits plant -1 Yield during summer season 45-50 t ha -1 Yield during winter season 80-90 t ha -1 Life cycle 100-110 days 7. BARI Tomato 7 (Apurba) Fruits are often flattened and yellow to orange in color Star like parts present at the base of petiole Rich in beta carotene (7 mg per 100 g tomato) Plants are indeterminate habit 30-32 fruits plant -1 Yield 100-105 t ha -1 Life cycle 100-110 days 2
8. BARI Tomato 8 (Shila) Fruits are irregular rounded in shape light red in color Fleshy, skin is tough and highly thick High yielding variety and dwarf type Shelf life 15-20 days at room temperature 25-30 fruits plant -1 and yield 90-95 t ha -1 Life cycle 100-110 days 9. BARI Tomato 9 (Lalima) Fruits are oval and red in color Lower portion of fruit is slightly narrow Dwarf type Shelf life 15-20 days at room temperature 32-35 fruits plant -1 and yield 80-90 t ha -1 Life cycle 95-105 days 10. BARI Tomato 10 (Anupoma) Fruits are oval and light red in color Heat tolerant variety Shelf life 2-3 weeks at room temperature 75-80 fruits plant -1 Yield 40-55 t ha -1 Life cycle 90-100 days 11. BARI Tomato 11 (Jhumka) Plants are tall and less bushy Fruits are small (8-10 g) like as grape and red in color Fruits are more sweet than other tomato Shelf life 2 weeks at room temperature Fruits set as cluster 180-200 fruits plant -1 Yield during summer season 2-3 t bigha -1 Yield during winter season 5-6 t bigha -1 Life cycle 100-110 days 3
12. BARI Tomato 14 Fruits are large, round and red in color Flesh attractive red in colour Plants are indeterminate habit Very good shelf life 30-35 fruits plant -1 Yield 90-95 t ha -1 Life cycle 110-120 days Tolerant to bacterial wilt 13. BARI Tomato 15 Fruits are oval and light red in color Attractive red flesh colour. less seeded 40-45 fruits plant -1 Yield 80-85 t ha -1 Life cycle 100-110 days Resistant to TYLCV 14. BARI Hybrid Tomato 3 High temperature tolerant variety Fruits like as kulboroi and red in color Very good shelf life 30-35 fruits plant -1 Yield 25-30 t ha -1 Life cycle 85-90 days 15. BARI Hybrid Tomato 4 Heat tolerant variety Fruits are medium size, round and red in color Good shelf life 35-40 fruits plant -1 and yield 25-30 t ha -1 Life cycle 85-90 days 4
16. BARI Hybrid Tomato 5 Fruits are large, flattened round Flesh attractive red in colour Very good shelf life 35-40 fruits plant -1 Yield 95-100 t ha -1 Life cycle 110-120 days Resistant to bacterial wilt and TYLCV 17. BARI Hybrid Tomato 6 Fruits are large, flattened round with attractive red flesh colour Very good shelf life 35-40 fruits plant -1 Yield 90-95 t ha -1 Life cycle 110-120 days Resistant to bacterial wilt and TYLCV 18. BARI Hybrid Tomato 7 Fruits are medium size, round with attractive colour Thick pericarp with high shelf life 40-45 fruits plant -1 Yield 90-95 t ha -1 Life cycle 120-130 days Resistant to TYLCV 19. BARI Hybrid Tomato 8 Heat tolerant variety Flattened round fruit shaped Fruit size bigger than other summer hybrid tomato Attractive red coloured fruit with thick flesh 22-25 fruits plant -1 and Yield 35-40 t ha -1 Life cycle 90-100 days 5
Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) has released some varieties they are- 1. BINA Tomato 1 (Bahar) High yielding winter variety. Plants are determinate in habit. Fruits are large, fleshy, tastier and contain less number of seeds. Yield is 65 t ha -1. 2. BINA Tomato 2 Summer variety that does not require any hormone for fruit setting. Fruits are round and yield is 38 t ha -1. 3. BINA Tomato 3 Summer variety that also does not require artificial hormone for its fruit setting. Fruits are oval and yield is 40 t ha -1. 4. BINA Tomato 4 High yielding winter variety. Plants are determinate in habit. Fruits are round, fleshy, smooth and tasty. Yield is 77 t ha -1. 5. BINA Tomato 5 High yielding winter variety. Fruits are large, fleshy, smooth and tasty. Yield is 69 t ha -1. 6. BINA Tomato 6 Plants are determinate in habit. Fruits are medium, fleshy, tasty and contain less number of seeds. Self life is 25-30 days. Fruit is round, pointed at the opposite of calyx and red in colour at ripening. Average yield is 85 t ha -1 in winter and 40 t ha -1 in summer. It is moderately resistant to wilt, early blight and leaf curl, tolerant to mild salinity and water stress. 7. BINA Tomato 7 Plants are determinate in habit. Fruits are medium, fleshy, tasty and contain less number of seeds. Self life is 20-25 days. Fruit is round and red in colour at ripening. Average yield is 87 t ha -1 in winter and 43 t ha -1 in summer. It is moderately resistant to wilt, early blight and leaf curl, tolerant to mild salinity and water stress. 8. BINA Tomato 8 Fruits are small. Fruit is round and red in colour at ripening. Average yield is 90 t ha -1. 9. BINA Tomato 10 Fruits are small and look like grape. Fruit is round and red in colour at ripening. Average yield is 80 t ha -1. Plant types According to growth habit of the plant, tomato varieties can be divided into two types- 1. Determinate type Main axis of plant terminated with a flower cluster and stop its growth at this point Short and bushy type plant, generally obtain 40-60 cm height Large number of flower clusters produced almost at the same period 6
Fruits are harvested at a time or a minimum duration due to synchronized maturity Usually, it is cultivated for commercial purposes 2. Indeterminate type Main axis of plant continues to grow indefinitely, generally obtain 80-120 cm height Plant continuously produce side branches up to death Emergence of inflorescence and elongation of stem go on side by side Inflorescence clusters are produced at every 3 rd - 5 th internodes Fruits are harvested time to time due to different times of maturity Generally, it is cultivated to meet up the family needs in kitchen garden. Production technology Climate Moderately warm and dry weather is suitable for tomato cultivation. The optimum temperature required for tomato is 20-25 0 C for better production. Temperature above 30 0 C and below 10 0 C is both harmful for proper fruit setting. Temperature at day 25-30 0 C and at night 15-20 0 C is the best for fruit setting. Night temperature is very sensitive for fruit setting because if it exceeds 22 0 C causes lesser fruit setting and small size fruit. Soil High to medium high land is suitable for tomato cultivation. Tomato may be grown on a wide range of soil from sandy to clay. The optimum soil ph required for tomato is 6.5-7.0. In acidic soil, liming is required. Seed Rate: About 200-220 g ha -1. Seed treatment Provax 200/Thiram 75% dust @ 3g mixed with 1 kg seed and shake well before sowing. Sowing time September-October during winter and April-May during summer is the optimum time for sowing. Seedbed preparation Tomato seedlings are raised in the nursery bed. Seedbeds are prepared about 3 1 m size and raised upto 10-15 cm keeping 75 cm between two beds. Seedbeds are prepared with the mixture of sand, compost and soil. Tomato seeds are sown in the line on well prepared seedbeds and lightly covered with soil. The watering should be done by water can as per the need till germination is completed. Land preparation Tomato should be planted in well pulverized field with 4-5 times ploughing followed by laddering. About 1m wide and 15 cm raised bed should be prepared on the field keeping 30 cm wide channel between two beds that will help in irrigating the crop as well as in drainage. Farmyard manure or compost and recommended dose of chemical fertilizer are incorporated into soil during final ploughing. 7
Transplanting time During winter season: October-December and during summer season: May-July. Spacing 60 x 40 cm Transplanting of seedling The seedbed should be watered before uprooting the seedlings to minimize the damage of roots. Healthy and uniform seedlings about 30-35 days aged during winter season and about 25-30 days aged during summer season should be transplanted in the main field and then seedlings are watered. Fertilizer dose and application method Cowdung 10 t ha -1, Urea 550 kg ha -1, TSP 450 kg ha -1, MoP 250 kg ha -1, Gypsum 120 kg ha -1, Boron 2 kg ha -1. Half of cowdung, half of TSP and entire amount of gypsum and boron should be applied during land preparation. The remaining half of cowdung and TSP should be applied during pit preparation before a week of transplanting. The entire urea and MoP are to be applied in 3 equal installments of 21, 35 and 50 days after transplanting. Intercultural operation Gap filling If the plants not survive in the field after transplanting, in such condition it should be filled up with the healthy seedlings. Stalking Tomato plants fall down on ground due its weak stem. To overcome such situation stalking is so necessary. It is done by stick of bamboo, both the sides of plants like as A shape. Stacking leads to higher yield of marketable fruits and facilitate management operations such as irrigation, intertillage, pest control and harvesting. Training Training of tomato plants with the help of ropes. It is claimed to have resulted in early ripening, higher yield of better quality fruits and seeds, lesser disease incidence, easier intercultural operation and harvesting. Pruning of branch Determinate type of plants produces large number of branches and flower clusters. So, prunning of all side suckers except the sucker just below the first flower cluster are to be done. But it is not common practice in our country, though it have claimed to have higher yield, uniform and large fruit. Weeding Weeding should be done when it is necessary to keep the crops free of weeds. 8
Fruit thinning Fruit thinning is so important in tomato production for getting quality and maximum fruit size. Sometimes, plants produces huge quantity of fruits at the same branch and plants can not bear the weight, resulting breaking of branches. So, some fruits should thin out from the branch. Earthing up The plants are supported with the soil around the plant base. Irrigation First irrigation is given just after transplanting of seedlings and subsequent irrigations are given at an interval of 20-25 days depending upon the season and soil conditions. Wetted condition encourages diseases and insects attack. Auxin application In summer season, tomato is cultivated under polythene tunnel. During this period, flowers and fruits are dropped due to high temperature. To overcome this situation foliar spray of auxin can play an important role in flower and fruit setting. Major insects and control measures 1. Tomato fruit worm Sanitation with clean cultivation Use of sex pheromone trap Cypermethrin 10 EC@1 ml/l of water at 15 days interval should be applied 2. Common cutworm/prodenia caterpillar Practice IPM (Picking egg mass & Prodenia caterpillar) 2 times during cropping period Use of sex pheromone trap Spray Cypermethrin @ 1.5 ml/l of water at 15 days interval 3. Leaf miner Hand picking of infested leaves Apply Neem oil + trix 2-3 times @ 5 ml/l of water at 7-10 days interval Major diseases and control measures 1. Virus Net (60 mesh) protection during seedling stage is necessary for controlling vector Spray with Admire 200 SL/Imitaf 20 SL @ 0.5 ml/litre of water at 7-10 days interval should be applied to control white fly after planting 9
2. Late blight Spraying Ridomil gold or Mancozeb 2 g /litre water Remove infested plant 3. Early blight Spraying Rovral 2 g/litre water at 15 days interval Use resistant variety 4. Bacterial wilt Use resistant variety The land should be kept clean and well drained Harvesting stage of fruits The following stages of maturity for harvesting have been recognized: 1. Immature stage Before the seeds have fully developed Before the jelly like substance have formed surrounding the seeds 2. Mature green stage Fruits show a brownish ring at stem scar Dropping of calyx Fruits color turn to light green or yellowish green Seeds are surrounded by jelly like substances filling the seed cavity 3. Breaker or turning stage One-fourth (1/4) of the surface fruit shows red or yellow colour 4. Pink stage Three-fourth (3/4) of the surface of fruit shows pink colour 5. Hard or red ripe stage Nearly all surface of fruit turn into red or pink colour but flesh remain firm 6. Over ripe stage Fruit is fully colored and soft Yield Yield of the tomato greatly depend upon the variety, maturity and season of cultivation. Yield may range 80-90 t ha -1 in winter season and 25-35 t ha -1 in summer season. 10