Blossom drop - Page 2

Timomac · June 30, 2015

Tom Skilling, our local weather savant, is saying this is Illinois' wettest June ever - since records began in the 1880's, and the fourth wettest month ever.

Humid air and drenched soil are going to rot roots and tubers, make tomato pollination difficult and encourage disease. Plastic mulch, a little fungicide and mechanical pollination, buzzing with an electric toothbrush on the rare dry days, helped me.

It's still just an average year in terms of production but the forecast looks better so I'm hopeful.

Captain Neon · June 30, 2015

Flooding last year where we lived in Iowa gave us mosquito swarms so thick we feared they would carry our yearling son away. It was a bad year for our tomatoes last year. The giant cottonwood didn't help matters either. Things are looking much better for us here in Zone 4a Central Minnesota, but still concerned that I will end up with healthy Brandywines with lots of green tomatoes come the autumn frost. I guess that is the risk in raising Brandywines, however. I did plant a fair number of earlier varieties.

b54red · June 30, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Neon

Flooding last year where we lived in Iowa gave us mosquito swarms so thick we feared they would carry our yearling son away. It was a bad year for our tomatoes last year. The giant cottonwood didn't help matters either. Things are looking much better for us here in Zone 4a Central Minnesota, but still concerned that I will end up with healthy Brandywines with lots of green tomatoes come the autumn frost. I guess that is the risk in raising Brandywines, however. I did plant a fair number of earlier varieties.

I find it odd that Brandywines are considered late. Down here they run from early as 65 days to as late as 70 but that is what we consider a mid DTM tomato down here. I guess the heat makes a big difference. I plant several varieties that are much later but hardly any run past 80 days unless we are talking about fall tomatoes which are just slow to ripen in the cool weather.

Bill

Lindalana · July 1, 2015

BW is on late side here, one of the last to yield for me, although they do well overall.
We are down to 50 today again so here goes my blossom. Whatever I get on my plants within next 2 week is all I am going to have.

FLRedHeart · July 1, 2015

I think you've mostly got this covered by other comments, but the fertilization program sounds fine. Probably the plants were stressed already by having wet feet all the time, and you have had several runs of very high humidity and maybe those plants were in a more humid situation, not to mention the foliar sprays may have added to that problem. Humidified pollen won't stick so the blossoms will drop and the ones that do set will have lower seed count.

Anthony_Toronto · July 2, 2015

Same issue in southern Ontario...plants were big, healthy, early, covered with flowers...least fertilization I have ever applied by this time of year, larger plants bought from garden centre flowered a week earlier than my own and they are covered, but mine have massive blossom drop. Ugh!!!

Gardeneer · July 4, 2015

I have a different problem.
No or very fewfew BD. The flowers get pollinated ok and set fruits BUT they will stay dormant and wont grow. In some varieties I get one or two in a cluster to grow. Maybe another 2 will start growing weeks later and the rest will just sit there, WON'T DROP, WON'T GROW.

Anybody experiencing this problem ?
What do you think, is the cause of it ?

Gardeneer

Lindalana · July 5, 2015

Keeping my fingers crossed, it seems am seeing more greenies. I have resorted to top branch shaking and cage shaking but I think conditions are just more favorable now.
Unfortunately our summers are just too short so yield will be lacking.

Barb_FL · July 5, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I have a different problem.
No or very fewfew BD. The flowers get pollinated ok and set fruits BUT they will stay dormant and wont grow. In some varieties I get one or two in a cluster to grow. Maybe another 2 will start growing weeks later and the rest will just sit there, WON'T DROP, WON'T GROW.

Anybody experiencing this problem ?
What do you think, is the cause of it ?

Gardeneer

I have this happen a lot. I always thought it was related to heat/humidity. I couldn't find the thread, but I think Ginny said that the tomato wasn't completely pollinated.

bower · July 5, 2015

Afaict it is genetic, how much cold or wet or...(fill in the stress) a variety will take before they drop the blossom or leave an "empty nest", like Gardeneer was saying. Not sure if it's the daytime high or the night time low, but looking at daytimes, I noticed that some varieties won't grow their fruit if the high isn't above 70 F.

Some varieties will always ( or nearly always) drop some of their blossoms, in any conditions. Some varieties will always or nearly set a fruit for every blossom. Except when it's too hot, every plant will drop blossoms over a certain temperature it's game over.

All the early-midseason varieties are very slow setting for me this year, and a couple of them are shedding more blossoms than they set. If it doesn't warm up, I won't be getting many of those...

Dane S · July 5, 2015

I was having the same issue with a few varieties. But one, primary colors angora, a fuzzy type just wouldn't set fruit at all. Tried to use a toothbrush wouldn't take. Emasculated a few and hand pollinated with donor pollen and there was no problem. I noticed that with this plant everything is fuzzy even the anthers. Im thinking wuts happening is that these fuzzy hairs hold moisture inside the anther cone and it "rots" from the inside and the pollen dies off. So I'm betting these angora types might be better off in drier climates.

Gardeneer · July 6, 2015

My problem IS NOT blossom drop. The tiny nubs hang in there like for ever.
In some varieties some of those nubs start growing later, slowly, In most they won't.

The temps is not a problem either. Our highs have been 80F and higher from early June.
Plants are well fed and watered and look very robust. I have a CP that does not have this problem , keeps pumping next toa Brandy Boy which has this problem.

We don't get many bee visitors but I do tap and shake just as an extra effort.

I tend to think that pollination is not taking full effect, for whatever the reason might be. Maybe poor pollens or bad ovaries, as if the flowers are semi sterile .

Gardeneer

bower · July 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dane S

I was having the same issue with a few varieties. But one, primary colors angora, a fuzzy type just wouldn't set fruit at all. Tried to use a toothbrush wouldn't take. Emasculated a few and hand pollinated with donor pollen and there was no problem. I noticed that with this plant everything is fuzzy even the anthers. Im thinking wuts happening is that these fuzzy hairs hold moisture inside the anther cone and it "rots" from the inside and the pollen dies off. So I'm betting these angora types might be better off in drier climates.

Awesome pix!

This is good to know about the angora, I might have thought they'd like a cool damp climate since they're wearing the mittens.

zipcode · July 6, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

I have a different problem.
No or very fewfew BD. The flowers get pollinated ok and set fruits BUT they will stay dormant and wont grow. In some varieties I get one or two in a cluster to grow. Maybe another 2 will start growing weeks later and the rest will just sit there, WON'T DROP, WON'T GROW.

Anybody experiencing this problem ?
What do you think, is the cause of it ?

Gardeneer

I also have this problem in containers. Seems to me to be just a lack of energy or too many fruit set on lower branches. After those are picked many of them return and grow (but not as big as early ones).

Also, on topic, Tomatoberry seems to set fruit very well in heat. I has been serious heat here for 1 week, with a high of 104F, and on the balcony in town it has been much much worse (also the nights were really bad). Had many flowers pollinating just fine (in fact, it never skipped any flowers, this tomato has great truss vigour).

NarnianGarden · July 6, 2015

It seems some varieties are more susceptible to this problem than others. I am quite disappointed with Bi-Color cherry: it is the only one of 17 varieties that is dropping its blossoms this year... and those fruits that actually develop, are so pitifully small that they are not worth the effort.
The plant itself is lush, green and very healthy looking. Just a handful of tiny tiny cherry toms out of a large plant is not what I am looking for....
Pink Tiger in the same soil next to it is doing fine and pushing fruits like an assembly line.

July 6, 2015	#30
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	It seems some varieties are more susceptible to this problem than others. I am quite disappointed with Bi-Color cherry: it is the only one of 17 varieties that is dropping its blossoms this year... and those fruits that actually develop, are so pitifully small that they are not worth the effort. The plant itself is lush, green and very healthy looking. Just a handful of tiny tiny cherry toms out of a large plant is not what I am looking for.... Pink Tiger in the same soil next to it is doing fine and pushing fruits like an assembly line. Last edited by NarnianGarden; July 6, 2015 at 10:19 AM.

June 30, 2015	#16
Timomac Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: SW Chicago suburbs Posts: 36	Tom Skilling, our local weather savant, is saying this is Illinois' wettest June ever - since records began in the 1880's, and the fourth wettest month ever. Humid air and drenched soil are going to rot roots and tubers, make tomato pollination difficult and encourage disease. Plastic mulch, a little fungicide and mechanical pollination, buzzing with an electric toothbrush on the rare dry days, helped me. It's still just an average year in terms of production but the forecast looks better so I'm hopeful.

June 30, 2015	#17
Captain Neon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Florence KY Posts: 234	Flooding last year where we lived in Iowa gave us mosquito swarms so thick we feared they would carry our yearling son away. It was a bad year for our tomatoes last year. The giant cottonwood didn't help matters either. Things are looking much better for us here in Zone 4a Central Minnesota, but still concerned that I will end up with healthy Brandywines with lots of green tomatoes come the autumn frost. I guess that is the risk in raising Brandywines, however. I did plant a fair number of earlier varieties.

July 1, 2015	#19
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	BW is on late side here, one of the last to yield for me, although they do well overall. We are down to 50 today again so here goes my blossom. Whatever I get on my plants within next 2 week is all I am going to have.

July 1, 2015	#20
FLRedHeart Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: FL 8b/9a Posts: 262	I think you've mostly got this covered by other comments, but the fertilization program sounds fine. Probably the plants were stressed already by having wet feet all the time, and you have had several runs of very high humidity and maybe those plants were in a more humid situation, not to mention the foliar sprays may have added to that problem. Humidified pollen won't stick so the blossoms will drop and the ones that do set will have lower seed count.

July 2, 2015	#21
Anthony_Toronto Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 413	Same issue in southern Ontario...plants were big, healthy, early, covered with flowers...least fertilization I have ever applied by this time of year, larger plants bought from garden centre flowered a week earlier than my own and they are covered, but mine have massive blossom drop. Ugh!!!

July 4, 2015	#22
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,916	I have a different problem. No or very fewfew BD. The flowers get pollinated ok and set fruits BUT they will stay dormant and wont grow. In some varieties I get one or two in a cluster to grow. Maybe another 2 will start growing weeks later and the rest will just sit there, WON'T DROP, WON'T GROW. Anybody experiencing this problem ? What do you think, is the cause of it ? Gardeneer

July 5, 2015	#23
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Keeping my fingers crossed, it seems am seeing more greenies. I have resorted to top branch shaking and cage shaking but I think conditions are just more favorable now. Unfortunately our summers are just too short so yield will be lacking.

July 5, 2015	#25
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Afaict it is genetic, how much cold or wet or...(fill in the stress) a variety will take before they drop the blossom or leave an "empty nest", like Gardeneer was saying. Not sure if it's the daytime high or the night time low, but looking at daytimes, I noticed that some varieties won't grow their fruit if the high isn't above 70 F. Some varieties will always ( or nearly always) drop some of their blossoms, in any conditions. Some varieties will always or nearly set a fruit for every blossom. Except when it's too hot, every plant will drop blossoms over a certain temperature it's game over. All the early-midseason varieties are very slow setting for me this year, and a couple of them are shedding more blossoms than they set. If it doesn't warm up, I won't be getting many of those...