Calcium deficiency-Tomato | Yara South Africa

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Nutrients

Tomato - Discolouration

Symptoms
Light case of Blossom End Rot (BER). More severely affected plants show a dark, sunken zone on the blossom end of the ripened fruit. This zone is sharply delimited against the fruit. The fruits ripen prematurely and are not marketable.

Reasons
Calcium deficiency on the fruit, also called Blossom End Rot (BER). BER develops in fruits that contain less than 0.08% Ca (healthy fruit contains 0.12-0.25 % Ca) . Water deficiency and therefore limited Ca support to the fruit may also be a cause of BER.

Tomato - Rot

Symptoms
Affected plants show a dark, sunken zone on the blossom end of the ripened fruit. This zone is sharply delimited against the fruit. The fruits ripen prematurely and are not marketable.

Calcium deficiency made worse by

Acidic soils
Sandy or light soils (leaching)
Acid peat soils
Soils rich in sodium
Soils rich in aluminium
Drought conditions
Fruit high in nitrogen or potassium
Large fruit

Calcium is important for

Cell division
Cell elongation
Proper working of cell membranes
Permeability of cell membranes

Yara recommended fertilizers for Calcium

YaraLiva NITRABOR

Tomatoes (field grown): 300-400 kg/ha as top-dressing during early fruit development. For more detailed advice on rates and timings, contact your local Yara Agronomist.

YaraTera CALCINIT

Tomatoes (field grown): 300-400 kg/ha as top-dressing during early fruit development. For more detailed advice on rates and timings, contact your local Yara Agronomist.

YaraVita CALTRAC BZ

Tomato (field grown): One to four applications of 5 l/ha from flowering on second truss onwards up to one month before harvest. Allow 7 days between applications. Water rate: 50 to 500 l/ha.

YaraVita STOPIT

Tomato (field grown): Spray very young fruits directly, using up to 0.4 litres of 'Stopit' per 100 litres of water. Maximum water rate: 1,000 l/ha.