Tomato Cultivation: Improved Production Technology in Tomato Crop
Tomato is an important commercial vegetable crop for farmers. Due to outbreak of pest and diseases related to climate change,
labour shortage and bore wells going dry etc., Tomato farmers are facing various problems. In the last few years, in Kharif and
late Kharif season, late blight has emerged as a devastating disease for tomato farmers.
Cost of inputs has gone up and labour availability has become a major problem. Farmers are increasingly finding it difficult to
cope with the rise in input costs and other biotic and abiotic problems facing them. So to mitigate these problems, IIHR, Bangalore
initiated technology demonstration on plastic mulching, drip irrigation& fertigation in tomato crop.
The technology involves:
1. Since fertilizers are applied directly to the root zone, split application of nutrients along with irrigation water at
low concentration which increases the efficacy of fertigation through decreased quantity of applied fertilizers.
2. Improved timing of fertilization, due to more frequent application which makes it possible to match plant requirement at
various crop growth stages
3. Improved distribution of fertilizers with minimum loss through leaching beyond the root zone or losses through run-off.
This technology was taken up in Agrahara village of Dasanapura Hobli in Bangalore North Taluk of Bangalore urban district and
was successfully demonstrated. The practice of mulching aids in moisture conservation, weed suppression and maintenance of soil
structure. Mulches also improve the use efficiency of applied fertilizer and use of reflective mulches to minimize the incidences
of pests and virus diseases.
Farmers were very enthusiastic seeing the results of plastic mulching and drip irrigation. Farmers from the village are of the
opinion that by following these two technologies, they can reduce the wastage of water & fertilizers.
The new technologies have reduced the water requirement by 50-70% and also reduced the cost on fertilizers. The incidence of pest
and diseases has come down. The number of seedlings required for planting per acre also has come down by 25 %. The fruits obtained
were of better quality and colour, which fetched more prices in the market.
