Tomato propagation

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SEEDLING PROPAGATION

GrowNurs propagates tomatoes via seedling propagation.

TRANSPLANTING INTO THE PRODUCTION GREENHOUSE

Our tomato seedlings are usually ready to be transplanted into the greenhouse at 5-6 weeks of age.At this time the plants will have 7 to 8 true leaves.When transplanting our tomato plants into the production greenhouse,we put place the plants in direct contact with our growing medium(sawdust) when a number of roots are developing through the bottom of the rockwool blocks the seed was initially planted in.The goal is to ensure that the roots go directly into the sawdust to ensure firm rooting. But before we place the plants in direct contact with the sawdust,we first saturate the sawdust with feed solution for one week prior to the transplant so that the E.C. in the solution is the same as the rockwool block of the seedling and allows for complete wetting of the sawdust. This ensures that there is a constant environment between the block and the media that they are growing into. The sawdust  bags are slit for drainage immediately after the young tomato plants are placed onto the sawdust medium.We also ensure that the media is at the right temperature before transplanting the plants to it( at 20 degree Celsius).

MAINTENANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Once the plants are placed on the sawdust:
  • We ensure that the air temperatures are maintained at 20 degrees Celsius day and night.
  • A relative humidity of 75 percent 
  • A liquid CO2 supplementation to 800 to 1000 ppm 
  • Root-zone temperature is a stable 20 degrees Celsius
One week of transplanting we drop the night temperature to reach a minimum 18 degrees Celsius and maintain the 24 hour average temperature at 19.5 degrees Celsius.

All of the above mentioned points are computer controlled by our computer operated facilities.
(for more information about our computer operated facilities, check out our infrastructure page).
IRRIGATION
We have a precise schedule followed when it comes to irrigating the young tomato plants.A precise irrigation schedule ensures plant establishment and development of the root system.
Young tomato plants being irrigated

  • We schedule 7 irrigation events per day of about 30 ml per event starting at 9:00 am and ending at 3:00 pm.
  • This strategy allows for the application of adequate amount of water throughout the day,but also times the delivery of water so that the roots grow to actively search for water between the watering events. 
At GrowNurs we try and to maintain a balance between vegetative and generative growth. This allows us to maintain a maximum sustainable yield of high value tomatoes for profit.

To vegetative:
  • If the plants become to vegetative, we increase the stress on the plant by raising the 24 hour average temperature by 1 degree Celsius for a period of time,or modify the watering schedule to increase the duration between watering events( strategy is to adjust the timing of the watering events,not the amount of water delivered to the plants)
  • Once the plants have been brought back into balance the temperature settings and watering schedules return back to normal.


To generative:
  • This approach is the reverse to the one mentioned above. The 24 hour average temperature id reduced by 1 or 1.5 degree Celsius and the watering schedule is adjusted to deliver more frequent waterings. The idea is to reduce the stress on the plant.







                                  

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