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Tomatoes are a rather whimsical, heat-loving crop, but, despite this, they are grown by many domestic gardeners. In an effort to get a good harvest of vegetables, farmers begin to work in early spring, preparing planting material for growing seedlings. Unprepared seeds in this case can cause non-germination of plants, poor yields and poor quality of fruits, which is why experienced vegetable growers advise to carry out selection and deep, thorough processing of tomatoes before planting seedlings. It may include thermal exposure, disinfection, bubbling, as well as saturation of seeds with nutrients.
Seed selection
Before processing, soaking and germinating tomato seeds, they should be carefully selected, removing empty and ugly specimens. The primary selection of tomato seeds is a visual inspection. So, hollow, too small and large tomato grains should be removed. The shape of a high-quality seed should be even, symmetrical. This visual calibration allows you to select the best seeds that will give a good, high-quality crop of vegetables.
In addition to visual inspection, experienced farmers use saline to select full-bodied seeds. To do this, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in half a liter of water. It is necessary to immerse the tomato seeds in the resulting liquid and mix them thoroughly. After 15-20 minutes, low-grade, hollow tomato seeds should remain on the surface of the water, and those suitable for sowing should sink to the bottom of the container. They must then be thoroughly rinsed and dried for further use.
Heat treatment methods
After visual selection, full-bodied seeds of a leveled shape can be used for further processing and sowing for seedlings. So, heat treatment of tomato grains can be primary. It includes hardening and heating. These measures require time and effort from the farmer, however, subsequently, they will allow you to get a high-quality, rich crop of tomatoes.
Warming up
Heating tomato seeds improves the quality and quantity of seedlings. Heated seeds germinate quickly and evenly and guarantee a rich harvest of vegetables. You can warm them up long before sowing. For example, during the heating season, when the batteries are hot, the seeds can be wrapped in a cotton bag and hung near a heat source. Such warming is recommended for 1,5-2 months.
You can quickly warm up the planting material using an oven. To do this, the seeds should be spread out on parchment paper, and then placed on a baking sheet in preheated to 600With oven. Seeds in such conditions must be kept for 3 hours. This will increase the resistance of the crop to drought.
Hardening
Hardening of tomato seeds is not a mandatory procedure and is rather advisory, but it is worth remembering that it is hardening that allows young and already adult plants to adapt to sharp fluctuations in night and day temperatures, as well as heat and frost.
Tomato seeds can be hardened as follows: the grains are placed in a damp cloth and kept at room temperature for 2 days, after which the package with tomato seeds should be put in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Such a contrast should be created for seeds for 10-15 days, until they hatch.
The use of thermal methods for processing grains does not require much effort, time and money from the farmer, however, it gives a quite noticeable positive result in the process of growing a crop, which is why many experienced and novice gardeners resort to hardening and heating seeds.
Seed disinfection
Regardless of whether tomato seeds were purchased or harvested on their own, harmful microbes and spores of a pathogenic fungus can exist on their surface. They can cause various plant diseases and negatively affect the growth, fruiting volume of tomatoes and the quality of vegetables. Early wilting and death of tomatoes in some cases can also be the result of exposure to parasites, the larvae of which were located on the surface of the tomato seed even before the seeds were sown in the ground. It is possible to remove larvae and bacteria that are not visible to the eye by processing the planting material. The most common methods for disinfecting tomato seeds are listed below.
Use of potassium permanganate
A solution of potassium permanganate is most often used to disinfect tomato seeds before sowing seedlings. The method consists in the preparation of a manganese 1% solution (1 mg per 1 liter of water). It is necessary to place tomato seeds in the prepared light pink liquid for 15 minutes. After soaking, the seed must be thoroughly rinsed with water and soaked for further germination or dried for short-term storage.
Hydrogen peroxide
Unlike potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide not only disinfects tomato seeds, but also speeds up the process of their germination. It is worth noting that experienced housewives recommend various ways to use this substance. So, immediately before sowing, tomato seeds can be soaked for 20 minutes in a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Such a measure does not require much time and does not cause much trouble.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used for long-term soaking and sprouting. So, a substance at a concentration of 6% should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Tomato seeds must be placed in the resulting liquid for 3 days.
Biopreparations
Specialized agro-technical stores offer a range of products for disinfecting tomato seeds. Among them, there are chemicals that are undesirable, since they are implanted in planting material and subsequently partially contained in vegetables. An alternative to such “harmful” substances are biological products that are absolutely harmless to humans and at the same time effective in the fight against pathogens of most diseases.
Phytosporin
The substance is a microbiological preparation that can be used to disinfect tomato seeds. Phytosporin can be used at various ambient temperatures, for example, during seed hardening. The drug is non-toxic, it can be used in an apartment.
Phytosporin is produced in the form of a paste, powder, liquid. To disinfect tomato seeds, depending on the form of the preparation, the following instructions should be followed:
- half a teaspoon of powder must be diluted in 100 g of water. In the resulting solution, the seeds are soaked for 2 hours immediately before planting;
- the paste contains an increased concentration of substances, so it is used in the ratio of 2 drops per half a glass of water. Seed soaking time 2 hours;
- liquid phytosporin is offered to the consumer in finished and concentrated form. The concentrated substance is diluted in a ratio of 10 drops per glass of water. The finished solution does not need to be diluted.
This harmless biological product can be used at different stages of plant growth, including during flowering and fruit formation. Protection extends not only to the aerial green part of the plant, but also to its root system.
Baikal EM
This drug contains a lot of beneficial bacteria and trace elements that “survive” pathogenic pests. Baikal EM contains lactic acid, nitrogen-fixing, photosynthetic bacteria and yeast. Such a complex allows you to disinfect tomato seeds and saturate them with nutrients for subsequent successful growth and fruiting of tomatoes.
“Baikal EM” is a highly concentrated liquid that must be diluted 2 hours before use in water at a ratio of 1:1000. So, 3 ml of the substance should be added to a liter jar of water. To activate the reproduction of bacteria, it is recommended to add a teaspoon of sugar, molasses or honey to the solution. In the solution, you can soak tomato seeds for germination. Such a measure will remove pest larvae from the surface of the seeds and saturate the tomato seeds with nutrients. “Baikal EM” can be used to protect tomatoes from pests at all stages of the growing season.
Specialists in the vegetable growing industry recommend disinfecting the seeds of any vegetable crops until the moment of germination or sowing in the ground. This helps to prevent the negative impact of pests at the earliest stage of cultivation. The choice of the method of disinfection always depends solely on the preferences of the farmer. A description of some methods for disinfecting tomato seeds is shown in the video:
Bubbling
Bubbling is acceptable for those farmers who have an aquarium at home. The method is based on many hours of movement of seed in an oxygen-rich aquatic environment. So, for bubbling, a high container (glass, jar) should be filled with water by a third. It is necessary to place tomato seeds and a tube connected to an aquarium compressor in it. A regular supply of oxygen will make the seeds constantly move, harmful microorganisms are naturally, mechanically removed from the surface of the grains, the planting material is saturated with moisture and oxygen, which will favorably affect the germination and viability of tomatoes. Bubbling should be carried out for 15-20 hours, after which tomato seeds can be used for further germination or sowing directly into the ground.
An example of how to properly sparge tomato seeds is shown in the video:
Enrichment with microelements
To get a good harvest of tomatoes, it is worth taking care not only of the rich microelement composition of the soil in which the crop will grow, but also of the saturation of the tomato seeds themselves with these most useful substances. So, in the process of pre-sowing preparation, it is possible to soak tomato seeds in a nutrient solution. To do this, you can use, for example, wood ash. One teaspoon of this “ingredient” must be dissolved in a glass of water and insisted for a day. Tomato seeds are immersed in the resulting mixture in a gauze bag for 5 hours. After this procedure, tomato seeds should be washed and then used for germination or dried for storage.
To enrich the seeds with micronutrients, you can also use nitrophoska or nitroammophoska. These substances are diluted in a ratio of 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water. It is necessary to keep tomato seeds in the resulting solution for 12 hours, after which they are washed and immersed in a humid environment until complete germination. The optimum temperature for the appearance of tomato sprouts is + 24- + 250C. Under such conditions, tomato seeds germinate in 3-4 days.
In addition to the above folk methods for enriching tomato grains with nutrients, you can also use ready-made microelement compositions, for example Zircon, Epin-Extra and some others. Also, a growth stimulant and a means of disinfecting tomato seeds is undiluted aloe juice, in which tomato seeds can be soaked for germination.
Conclusion
The work of a vegetable grower is quite complicated and painstaking, especially when it comes to growing tomatoes. Even at the pre-sowing stage, it is necessary to take care of the health of the seeds, because it is high-quality planting material that is the key to a good, plentiful harvest of tomatoes. With the help of a number of measures described in the article, it is possible to select the strongest tomato grains, carefully disinfect them and nourish them with useful microelements that will allow the plants to sprout together, actively develop and bear fruit. Heat treatment allows you to prepare future tomatoes for climatic disasters: heat, drought, frost. In a word, tomatoes, the seeds of which have undergone a full range of preparations, are practically invulnerable and are guaranteed to provide the farmer with a good harvest of delicious tomatoes.