Plant nutrition for tomatoes
Proper fertilization is critical for successful plant yields, high tomato quality and eye appeal when your produce hits the grocer’s shelves. In addition to soil management and application timing, there are a few things to remember when developing your tomato fertility program.
1. In the early stages, high-yielding tomatoes require large amounts of potassium to stimulate root growth. Too much of this nutrient, however, can restrict plant absorption of magnesium, which is essential for chlorophyll production.
2. Most potassium sources contain chloride that may reduce the quality of sensitive plants and shorten shelf life. Rainbow fertilizers contain a low chloride level that will not harm your tomatoes.
3. Choosing a fertilizer with the correct form of nitrogen is critical. Ammonium may restrict growth and negatively affect quality. Applying too much nitrogen can also result in plants with lush foliage but little fruit production.
4. A full spectrum of secondary nutrients and micronutrients (calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, iron, manganese, and zinc) are required by tomato plants. If one or more of these nutrients is a limiting factor, yield potential may be limited.
5. Select a fertilizer that exists in a highly available water-soluble sulfate form so it can move quickly through the soil profile to reach tomato roots in time to promote a healthy, hearty plant.
Those who have used Super Rainbow 5-12-12 have seen higher yields and healthier tomato plants. Growers can rely on Rainbow Plant Food fertilizers to provide all the essential nutrients necessary to produce a high-quality tomato plant.
As always, be sure to perform the proper soil test to understand what nutrients you do have and at what levels before selecting which Rainbow fertilizer grade is right for your fields.
Questions or comments? Contact your local rep or tweet us @Rainbow_Plant.
