Good tomatoes have the characteristics of high yield and good taste. Tomato is one of the main crops cultivated in the solar greenhouse and is very popular among consumers. Traditional tomato planting has more serious pests and diseases, resulting in a decline in tomato production. The tomato nursery seedling machine can not only solve this problem but also shorten the seedling period and save the cost. Therefore, the tray nursery seedling technology can greatly promote the development of the tomato seedling industry. So how to use the seedling machine to breed high-quality tomato seedlings? Usually, the following aspects need attention.
1. First is the choice of seeds
Choose disease-resistant, stress-resistant, and high-yield seeds with a high seeding rate. You can choose high-quality tomato seeds in the same year or every other year with high germination rates and fast germination. In order to reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases in the later stage, good tomato seeds with a germination rate of more than 95% are selected.
2. Tray Preparation
For planting tomato seeds in trays, 50-hole and 72-hole black plugs are generally used, which have good light absorption and are beneficial to the development of the roots of the seedlings. After the seedling tray is selected, it should be disinfected, and then rinsed with water for later use. The used trays can also be used again after disinfection, which improves the utilization rate of the seedling trays and reduces production costs.
3. Substrate Soil Treatment
The ratio of the substrate should be appropriate to ensure good ventilation and water retention. The pH is moderate, generally between 5.5 and 7.0. All the seedling raising machines we sell can automatically fill the seedling tray with the substrate soil, the scraper scrapes off the excess substrate soil, and then the punch drills the hole on the trays with a depth of 0.8~1.0cm to ensure the depth of seeding and emergence time is consistent.
4. Seed Treatment
The tomato seeds should be soaked and disinfected before sowing. The process is to soak the seeds in water at 50°C~55°C for 20 minutes. Stir constantly during the soaking process to control the time and temperature to avoid scalding the seeds. Generally, the seeds will become white in about 3 days, and when about 70% of the seeds become white, the tomato nursery seedling machine can be used for sowing and raising seedlings.
5. Management after Sowing
5.1 Temperature Management
Temperature is one of the important factors affecting tomato nursery. If conditions permit, the tomato seedling tray can be placed in the germination chamber for germination. The temperature during the day is kept at 25℃~30℃, and the temperature at night is controlled at 18℃~20℃. Generally, after 3~5 days, about 70% of the seeds in the seedling trays are unearthed, and then they can enter the greenhouse to raise seedlings. At this time, the temperature should be lowered appropriately, 20℃~25℃ during the day and 15℃~18℃ at night. When the seedlings have 2 leaves, the night temperature can drop to about 13°C. Pay attention to timely ventilation and reduce the humidity in the shed.
5.2 Water and Fertilizer Management
After the tomato seedlings emerge, the main watering is to spray the leaf seedlings. At this stage, the growth of seedlings is relatively slow, and the amount of fertilizer required is small. Try to prolong the fertilization cycle and choose low-phosphorus fertilizer. When the seedling grows 3 leaves, at this stage, the seedling grows fast, and it must be combined with water spray for fertilization. At this time, the water content of the substrate should be about 45%. Too dry or too much water content is not conducive to the growth of nursery tomato plants. With the growth of tomato seedlings, it is necessary to add nitrogen fertilizer and potassium fertilizer in time. The lack of nitrogen fertilizer will affect the root development of the seedlings, and the lack of potassium fertilizer will affect the disease resistance of the tomato seedlings. Therefore, water and fertilizer should be supplemented regularly according to the growing needs of the seedlings.
5.3 Light Management
Tomatoes are more sensitive to light, and the light required for normal growth is 30000~35000lx. If the light time is less than 4 hours, the tomato seedlings will basically stop growing. The stronger the light, the larger and thicker the leaves, the more vigorous the growth of the seedlings. Generally, the best light time is about 15 hours.
5.4 Test Seedling
Test tomato seedlings 7~10 days before seedlings to improve the plant’s environmental adaptability. During the trial seedling period, it is necessary to increase the amount of ventilation to make the temperature in the shed basically the same as the outside temperature. During the period, watering should be less to ensure that the plants do not wilt, which can promote the root development of the plants. The general seedling age is 45-50 days, and the leaves are thick, the color is dark green, the plant height is 12-16 cm, the stem is about 0.5 cm thick, the root system is developed, the substrate is tightly packed, the substrate soil is not scattered, which reach the standard of strong seedlings for transplanting.
5.5 Pest Control
The seedlings bred by the tomato seedling raising machine will be relatively strong. Once pests and diseases occur, they should be treated in time to avoid reducing yield.