Search This Blog

Monday, June 13, 2016

Mulch and Sprays Reduce Black Fruit Rot on Tomato

Q. I planted tomatoes in late feb. in  my raised boxes..The cherry tomatoes have been doing great.. producing almost more then I can handle.The neighbors are enjoying the excess..However the larger varieties  develop  good size fruit but as they ripen  start to turn black on the bottom..making them unusable.. Any ideas or suggestions ??

A. This is a physiological disorder (not a true disease caused by a pathogen) called blossom end rot. It is suggested that it is caused by irregular soil moisture causing calcium deficiency. Here is a nice discussion by Bonnie Plants

Use mulches to reduce water stress. I like the horse bedding pine shavings you can find at Viragrow.


Calcium sprays might help such as Monterrey's Tomato Blossom Spray available from Viragrow.
Lawn & Garden Products LG 7236 Tomato Blossom Spray 16oz.
Some varieties of tomato or more prone to blossom end rot than others. Keep track of the varieties you are growing and try different ones. It should improve later in the season.

Viragrow Delivers!

No comments:

Post a Comment