Tomato plant flower are dying. Help!?
Question:My tomato plants are doing well when it come to growing tall. but when the yellow flowers start to change to tomatos they die and fall off. Does anyone know what might be happening? Thanks.
Answers:
Hello
This is quite an unfortunate thing to happen to your tomatoe's although it is curable. What you have is blossom set, which causes the flowers to look beautiful but fall and die just before fertilization or just after preventing fruit. You need to buy a blossem set spray and spray the plant down with it as soon as possible. The longer you wait the more blossoms will fall and the lesser amount of fruit you will get. Goodluck.
Greenman
may well need magnesium --try epsom salts
There are several reasons why your tomatoes are failing to set fruit;
1) Excessive Nitrogen--Anything that creates lush vine conditions usually discourages bloom set. The most common 'culprit' is excessive fertilization...especially with nitrogen fertilization. (a 5-10-10 fertilizer applied once a moth is sufficient)
2) Dry Windy Conditions--You may need to establish windbreaks
3) Extreme Fluctuations in Temperatures-- If night temperatures fall below 55 or rise above 75 or if the day temps are above 90, the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable. Pollination cannot occur. If the bloom isn't pollinated, the bloom dies and falls off.
Other Suggestions;
Water the plants deeply once a week.
Apply a mulch around the base of the plants to maintain constant soil moisture levels.
Some recommend attempting hand-pollination with an artist brush or a gentle shaking of the plant/cage/support prior to the hottest part of the day will also help.
Fruit set will resume when temperatures moderate.
-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science
More Related Questions & Answers...