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Whether you carefully cultivatetomatoes from seedor purchase seedlings , you are likely hop-skip to grow a healthy and luscious tomato plant life with abundant yield . However , it is gentle to makemistakes when imbed tomatoesthat can harm your harvest and cause problems like Lycopersicon esculentum catfacing .
Tomato catfacing is a physiological issue that come in love apple fruits . It is something that every gardener should adjudicate to nullify as it can damage your fruit and lower your yield at harvest home time , all while have the flora more susceptible to fungus . Learn more about what tomato catfacing looks like , what causes it , and how you may bushel the problem .
Why Do Tomatoes Experience Catfacing
To keep your tomato plants goodish it is important to understand what catfacing looks like and the primary causes of this physiologic problem . That way you could do your undecomposed to forefend this inconvenience .
What Causes Tomato Catfacing
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you may spot tomato catfacing by the mystifying scars that form across the flower side of the tomato . These scars make the fruit appear mishappen with several large hole resembling perforations on the fruit . you could cause it if you transfer your love apple outside when it is too moth-eaten , or when spring temperatures still drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit .
There are also some causes of catfacing that are still being examine . For instance , large mutant in temperature between day and dark may be another effort . to boot , gamy nitrogen levelsmay also be a perpetrator behind catfacing . investigator are continuing to assess these possible causes further , so as a gardener , it is best to follow prevention backsheesh to help avoid these factor just in shell .
Catfacing Can Cause Black Mold Rot
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It is important to note that the misshapen fruit is n’t the only take catfacing can do . It also makes your plant more likely to get bleak mold rot or Alternaria alternata fungus . This fungus waste fruit causing black decay , leaving a foggy or velvety level of mold spores on the fruit ’s surface .
To cover this type of rot , transfer catfacing fruit straightaway to help prevent the fungus from form and spreading to healthy fruit . you may also avoid black mold moulder bywatering the grunge , instead of irrigating overhead ; this avoids wetting the foliage . recall to accompany your tomato cultivar ’s watering guidelines . Then , you should harvest ripe fruits the right way away because the fungus often spreads on ripe green groceries .
How to Fix Tomato Catfacing
Now that you make out what tomato catfacing looks like and the harm it can cause , it ’s metre to find out how you may fix the trouble by invalidate and managing it .
Transplanting at the Right Time
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One of the best direction to keep tomato catfacing is to be patient when you aretransplanting tomatoes . Even though you are excited tostart your garden , wait one to two weeks after the last spring Robert Lee Frost before you transplant your tomato bourgeon outdoors . Soil temperature should be at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit , but it is even better to wait until it is 60 degree Fahrenheit or warmer before transplantation . This will help reduce the peril of catfacing from temperature fluctuations between day and Nox .
you’re able to also help oneself your plants to acclimatise byhardening off seedlingsbefore you put them in the ground . Hardening off is the process of slowly insert your seedling to the unpredictable out-of-doors . But once temperature are above 50 degree Fahrenheit bring the sprout alfresco for a few hour each until they are step by step remote for the total day .
Avoid High-Nitrogen Fertilizers
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Research is still underway to determine if high N plant food can have catfacing so in the meantime it is best to nullify it . It ’s also beneficial to debar gamey - nitrogen fertilizers on tomato plants because they encourage abundant foliage growth at the expense of frutis .
While luscious foliation might look nice , you want your fertilizer to further fruit product . For best resultant role , utilise atomato - specific fertilizerwith a ratio of 4 - 7 - 10 or 3 - 4 - 6 and mix 2 to 3 tablespoonful into the soil beside the plant around its drip mold line .
Cultivate Resistant Varieties
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you’re able to also avoid catfacing by planting cultivar that are more resistant to it . take care for cultivars like ' Homestead 24 , ' ' Floradade , ' and ' Duke , ' which are less likely to develop catfacing mark .
Remember even when set these cultivar , pursue come packet transplanting guidelines to help further reduce risk .
Green unripe catfaced tomato hanging growing on green vine on plant macro closeup with blurry background with rain water drops on fruit
Manage Catfacing After It Occurs
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Unfortunately , when catfacing occurs the honorable choice is to fling the affected fruit . If you do n’t remove the misshapen fruit , the Lycopersicon esculentum flora will continue to send vigour to it . By slay the fruit , your plant can refocus the industrial plant imagination on producing new healthy fruit . Plus , cast out the unhealthy tomato will also aid prevent a black mold infection from growing in the wounds and spreading to other tomatoes .
Avoid Tomato Catfacing For Healthy Plants
Catfacing is a damaging physiological problem that usually takes place when you transplant tomatoes before temperature are warm enough outside . It make deep scarring and means you ’ll need to toss out touch on tomatoes . As a result , you ’ll have a small harvest . Not to observe that you could also expose nearby yield to black mold that develops in the lesions .
Your good course of action is to avoid this problem . Wait until temperatures are systematically above 50 or even 60 degrees Fahrenheit . Then , ward off high - N fertilizer and flora - resistant cultivar like ' Homestead 24 . '
