What if the tomatoes in the greenhouse are blooming, but there is no ovary?

Italians call tomatoes golden apples for a reason. This vegetable has a rich composition and excellent taste. In Russia, tomatoes rightfully take pride of place on the table.

It is not easy to get a decent harvest of this crop. Creating the necessary conditions for flowering, growth and ripening of fruits requires a lot of effort. We will tell you how to care for tomatoes in a greenhouse so that the ovaries are formed correctly and in sufficient quantity.

Reasons for the absence of ovaries on the bushes

Tomatoes are a very picky culture. The formation of ovaries is influenced by many factors. The main ones are listed below.

Violated temperature regime

The plant is sensitive to temperature changes. A violation of the temperature regime often causes a large number of barren flowers.

Attention! If the stems and leaves of a tomato bush develop well, and the flowers are small and weak, this is a clear sign of a lack of heat.

Tomato pollen is formed at night and ripens at temperatures not lower than +15 ° C. Often in the open field on tomatoes there is no ovary for this reason. Pollination occurs during the day. If at this time it is too hot (above 30 ° C), the pollen will become sterile and pollination will not occur.

The optimum temperature range is from +15 to +25 ° С. Just one day that is too hot can ruin your entire crop!

Therefore, on hot days, the greenhouse must be ventilated. Dark barrels with cold water help well against overheating; they accumulate excess heat.

If the weather is cold, install heaters. Watered tomatoes only with warm water.

If the weather is not stable, the successful formation of ovaries is facilitated by the use of modern means that improve fertilization. These are such drugs as "Ovyaz", "Buton", "Gibbersib", "Tomaton" and others. Plants are processed according to the instructions.

Spraying the bushes with a weak iodine solution is popular among folk remedies.

Poor quality seed

Seeds are best purchased in trusted stores and from reliable producers. Be sure to pay attention to the production date and expiration date printed on the packaging. Poor quality seeds will not germinate or the seedlings will grow weak and sick.

If you have harvested the seed yourself, carefully inspect it before planting. Delete sunflower seedsdiscolored or moldy. Soak the rest in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour and dry.

Need to know! Hybrid tomato varieties marked F1 do not produce offspring for the next year. It is pointless to collect seeds from such tomatoes.

Too many buds on the bush

The number of formed ovaries directly depends on the number of stems and branches. It is important to limit the growth of the bush in time, not allowing it to grow freely.

Removing excess shoots that distract the plant from fruit setting increases yields. Especially if the summer is short in your area.

It is optimal to keep a tomato bush in 1-2 stems, preventing the outflow of nutrients into new branches. If you leave more stems, the plant will not have time to grow large fruits, they simply will not have enough heat and time.

The lower leaves and those that shade nearby bushes are also removed.

Lack of sunlight

The crops grown in the greenhouse are dependent on sunlight. Insufficient lighting is a common reason that there are no or very few formed fruits.

Pay attention to how your greenhouse is located in relation to the sun. The ideal location is high, open, not shaded by trees and bushes.

If there are a lot of trees on the site and it is a pity to uproot them, arrange the greenhouse so that the sun illuminates it from morning to noon. Then the tomato bushes will grow strong and healthy. In addition, sunlight helps tomatoes better tolerate cold.

Council. Regularly clean the greenhouse film or glass from dust and dirt. Dusty coating “eats up” 10-20% of sunlight.

Diseases and pests

Often, diseases and pests become the reason for the absence of ovaries or their small number.

One of the most dangerous diseases is gray rot. It is a fungus that spreads rapidly, covering the plant with gray spots. The disease affects the stems, leaves and inflorescences of tomatoes.For prevention, the lower leaves on each plant are removed, providing a full flow of air to the bush. The greenhouse is regularly ventilated. They do not allow high air humidity and waterlogging of the soil.

If the disease appears, the damaged leaves are cut and destroyed away from the tomato growing area. The damaged stem is treated with chalk or Fundazol. They also use folk remedies, for example, garlic, which is rubbed with sore spots.

Another common disease is late blight. You can recognize an infection by dried, twisted leaves with brown spots. The disease develops rapidly and affects both the formed fruit and the ovary.Late blight appears in high humidity conditions. Irrigation by drip irrigation and timely airing helps to avoid excess moisture. Treatment with "Pentafag" or "Mikosan" preparations also refers to preventive measures. If the disease does appear, drugs "Antrakol", "Acrobat" and bordeaux liquid.

Among the many parasites that infect tomatoes, the most dangerous is the spider mite. This small insect settles on the lower part of the plant, braids it with cobwebs and sucks the juice from the leaves. As a result, the bush begins to dry out and dies. The spider mite prefers dry air, so it most often harms tomatoes with poor watering or rare ventilation.

Prevention consists in timely watering and airing, removing weeds, loosening the soil. If a pest is found, the affected leaves are removed, and the plant and the ground under it are treated with Fitoverm.

Whitefly is another pest that affects tomato bushes.It is a small insect with a yellowish body and two pairs of white wings. Plants are harmed by larvae that attach to leaves and feed on their juices. As a result, the bushes dry out and die. The pest is fought with the drugs "Fosbecid" and "Tsitkor". The bushes are sprayed in the morning or evening after sunset in accordance with the instructions.

No pollination

Open field tomatoes are pollinated naturally, with the help of wind and insects. There are no such helpers in the greenhouse. Natural pollination in greenhouses is facilitated by drafts and plants that attract bees.

If this was not enough and there are few ovaries, their number is increased manually, for example, lightly shaking branches with flowers. After that, the air is humidified with warm water from a spray bottle so that the pollen is attached to the flowers.

Attention! Visual inspection will help determine if pollination has occurred or not. In a pollinated flower, the petals are open and tilted back.

Ways to increase the number of ovaries

It often happens that the bushes delight with a healthy look and bloom well, but the tomatoes are not tied.Controlling humidity, correct fertilization, timely watering and good lighting will help correct the situation.

Humidity control

A hygrometer will help to establish and control the actual humidity in the greenhouse. This simple device allows you to accurately set the percentage of moisture in the air.

High humidity (over 60%) occurs during and immediately after watering. Ventilation solves the problem.

Low humidity is caused by long-term heating of the greenhouse on sunny days. Water containers and watering paths inside the greenhouse will help regulate the moisture content in the air. You can also periodically spray the plants with a spray bottle.

Correct feeding

Literate feeding stimulate the formation of a large number of ovaries. Fertilizers begin before flowering.

To form strong buds and a powerful root system, tomatoes are fed with a urea solution: 50 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.

Phosphorus and potash fertilizers are applied when the first inflorescence begins to set. For 10 liters of water, 10 g of each fertilizer is used.

Treatment of foliage with a solution of copper sulfate (1 liter of water - 2 g) will save the culture from diseases. Diseased plants do not have the strength to set fruit, so prevention is extremely important.

Lighting

The culture is demanding on lighting, especially during the period of ovary formation. With light starvation, the leaves turn yellow, as if there is a lack of nutrition, the bushes shed their buds and ovaries, and a lot of barren flowers are formed. The lack of lighting cannot be compensated for either by leaving or feeding.

To get a good harvest, tomatoes need at least 12 hours of lighting per day. When organizing a greenhouse, an open place is chosen to make the most of the sunlight.

Watering

Before the formation of ovaries and fruits, tomato bushes do not need a lot of moisture. During this period, it is enough to water the tomatoes 1-2 times a week.

During the ripening period, the bushes are watered more often. However, it should be remembered that excess moisture causes fungal diseases.

Tomatoes are always watered at the root, avoiding water getting on the leaves and stems of the plant. It is preferable to use drip irrigation, which preserves the structure of the topsoil and avoids high humidity in the greenhouse.

Conclusion

So, the answer to the question of what to do if the tomatoes in the greenhouse are blooming, but there is no ovary, can be formulated as follows: monitor the temperature, lighting, humidity, prevent diseases, and apply fertilizers in a timely manner and competently. Take care of your tomatoes right from the moment they sprout, and they will delight you with an excellent harvest!