Fertilizer Recommendations For Tomato Plant & Application

Fertilization of the tomato plant is very important to increase the yield of the crop. The tomato plant is one of the plants of high economic importance. The reward of tomato cultivation is a high yield; what fertilizer does to the tomato is to make it produce quality fruits to its genetic potential when other factors such as pests and diseases, and climatic factors are favorable.

Two farmers can plant tomatoes on the same piece of land but they would surely not get the same result; one would surely harvest more than the other would; this is a function of fertilization and other management practices. Irrespective of your system of cultivation, either organic or inorganic, you must follow the fertilizer recommendations for tomato plants to achieve a desirable yield and huge profit in return.

In this article, we shall explore extensively the right fertilizers and quantity to apply to tomato plant for both the determinate and indeterminate growth habits in the organic and inorganic farming system. In addition, the types of fertilizers you can apply on your tomato farm. So, if you are an organic or inorganic tomato farmer, you will have better insights into the recommended application rate of different fertilizers on a tomato farm.

Soil Nutrient Requirement For Planting Tomato

The soil is an ideal entity that contains a balanced nutrient profile required to give any plant good growth, however, this nutrient profile is often depleted as a result of constant cultivation and other activities of man on the soil, hence, the need to supplement fertilizers in a tomato farm is very crucial.

Prior to the cultivation of tomatoes, especially for commercial purposes, it is recommended you test your soil to ascertain the suitability of the soil parameters to the requirements of the tomato plant. The most important of all the tests are soil pH and nutrient composition of the soil. These two soil tests directly or indirectly affect the availability of nutrients in the soil. Let us start with soil pH.

The ideal soil pH requirement for tomato cultivation is a pH range between 6 to 6.8; this means the soil has to be slightly acidic to neutral. When the soil is too acidic or alkaline, essential nutrient elements, mostly Phosphorus, Calcium, and Magnesium may become insoluble, thus, making them unavailable for plant use; also, Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil find the condition unbearable for their survival. Such a condition makes the soil infertile and unfit for tomato cultivation.

The soil for planting tomatoes must naturally contain the following nutrient elements in the listed quantity:

Nutrient element	Quantity (mg/kg)
Nitrogen	10-50
Phosphorus	60
Potassium	100-250
Calcium	300 -2000
Magnesium	120- 300

This is the ideal soil nutrient requirement for the tomato plant. However, fertilizer supplementation of tomato plants may be needed if the soil or plant shows deficiency symptoms in the later stage of the cultivation.

Fertilizer Requirement Of Tomato Plant

Fertilizers, either manure or synthetic fertilizers, play a remarkable role in the yield and returns on investment of tomato cultivation. The nutrients required by tomatoes are divided into micronutrients and macronutrients.

The macronutrients are the most important nutrients required by tomato, they are usually required in large quantities. They are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. The micronutrients are nutrient elements required in small quantities, they are very essential to the growth and development of tomato plants. They are Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Boron, Copper, Zinc, Sulphur, Molybdenum, and Chlorine.

These nutrient elements are present in the soil in varying concentrations and are usually supplements in case of deficiency symptoms, especially calcium, and magnesium.

The table below shows the ideal fertilizer recommendation for tomato cultivation on one hectare of land.

Nutrient element	Quantity (kg/ha)
Nitrogen	200
Phosphorus	80
Potassium	350
Magnesium	60
Calcium	300

These fertilizers are needed across the three stages of growth of the tomato plant. These stages are:

–Vegetative stage: This is the early stage of tomato growth; it is usually between 0-6 weeks. This stage requires a high level of Nitrogen compared to other nutrients; it is needed for the rapid development of the plant tissues.

-Flowering stage: This is the stage where the tomato flowers emerge; it is usually between 6-12 weeks. The flowering state requires a high amount of potassium to aid turgidity and hasten fruit.

–Fruiting stage: The fruiting stage is marked by the emergence of tomato fruits; it is usually between 12-20 weeks. This stage requires a high amount of calcium and magnesium; this aids fruiting and prevents the occurrence of a common tomato fruit disease called blossom rot.

Care must be taken when applying fertilizer because excess fertilizers in the soil may lead to poor growth and fruiting.

Fertilizer Schedule For Indeterminate Tomato Plant

The table below shows the amount of fertilizer you need to apply to Indeterminate tomatoes across the three stages of growth.

Age (Weeks)	Nitrogen (kg/ha)	Phosphorus (kg/ha)	Potassium (kg/ha)	Calcium   (kg/ha)	Magnesium   (kg/ha)
0-7   (Vegetative stage)	35	18	60	5	3
7-12   (Flowering stage)	70	18	110	70	15
12-23   (Fruiting stage)	144	33	228	80	10

Fertilizer Schedule For Determinate Tomato Plant

The table below shows the amount of fertilizer you need to apply to Determinate tomato across the three stages of growth.

Age (Weeks)	Nitrogen (kg/ha)	Phosphorus (kg/ha)	Potassium (kg/ha)	Calcium   (kg/ha)	Magnesium   (kg/ha)
0-7   (Vegetative stage)	45	18	65	10	8
7-12   (Flowering stage)	55	18	100	70	13
12-23   (Fruiting stage)	70	12	120	55	3

Recommended Fertilizers For Tomato Plants

Now we have the nutrient requirements for the tomato plants; we still need to dwell more on the suppliers of these nutrients, called fertilizers. Fertilizers are the suppliers or better-said carriers of nutrients for plant use. There are two types of fertilizers for tomato plant use, organic fertilizers, and inorganic or synthetic fertilizers

Organic Fertilizers Recommended For Tomato Plants

Farmyard manure, poultry manure, and compost manure are the main types of fertilizers that can be used for tomato cultivation.

Farmyard manures are waste materials obtained from farm animals, such as cattle, horses, pigs, and rabbits; it includes their bedding materials, feces, and urine. They contain an appreciable amount of nutrient elements needed for tomato plant growth. 20 tons of farmyard manure is required to plant one hectare of the tomato plant.

Poultry manure is about 3-4 times as effective as farmyard manures; this is because it is the combination of fecal waste and urine, also poultry birds are usually fed with highly nutritious feeds, hence, their waste is usually rich in essential nutrients.

About 20 – 25 tons of poultry manure is required to plant one hectare of a tomato plant. It is the best fertilizer for tomatoes and peppers. It is best applied by mixing the manure with soil and applied through band placement, which is applied between a small opening made between the rows of the plants.

Compost manure is also a rich source of natural fertilizer; it is usually obtained from household or municipal waste from the environment. They are usually very dark in color and best applied as top dressing at the root zone of the plant; they can serve as homemade tomato fertilizer About 15 – 20 tons of compost is required to plant one hectare of tomato.

Inorganic Fertilizers Recommended For Tomato Plants

Inorganic fertilizers are synthetic compounds characterized by their ability to supply one or more plant nutrients. They are usually used as supplements during the cultivation of the tomato plant. Inorganic fertilizers are divided into two, compound and single fertilizers.

Compound fertilizers are those types of fertilizers that can supply more than one nutrient. Examples are NPK 15:15:15, NPK 10:10:10, and NPK 20:20:20; they supply the basic nutrients, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, needed by the tomato plant.

Single fertilizers are those types of fertilizers that supply just one nutrient; they are usually used to correct a deficiency of a particular nutrient.

Examples of nitrogen fertilizer for tomato are:

• Urea: 46% Nitrogen
• Ammonium nitrate: 33% Nitrogen
• Calcium nitrate: 15% Nitrogen
• Sodium nitrate: 15% Nitrogen

Examples of phosphorus fertilizer for tomato are:

• Monoammonium phosphate: 48% phosphorus
• Diammonium phosphate: 53% phosphorus

Examples of potassium fertilizer for tomato are:

• Murate of potash: 60% potassium
• Sulfate of potash: 48% potassium
• Potassium nitrate: 44% potassium

Care must be taken when using these inorganic fertilizers; they are hygroscopic in nature hence, they tend to absorb water from the plant when they have direct contact with it. It is recommended you water the plants, through drip irrigation lines, after applying these fertilizers.

How To Apply Fertilizer To Tomato Plant

There are different methods of fertilizer application; the choice of the method is dependent on the system used in planting the tomato, the size of the tomato farm, the quantity of the fertilizer to be applied, the age of the tomato plant, type of fertilizer among other factors to be considered before fertilizing tomato plant.

Irrespective of the system used in planting, fertilizer can be applied to tomato plants using any of these methods:

#1. Side dressing

Applying fertilizer using the side-dressing method is one of the traditional ways of applying fertilizers. This method is best used for applying bulky fertilizers like compost or farmyard manure.

In the side-dressing method, fertilizer is applied to the tomato plant inform of mulch. The fertilizer is used to cover the root zone of the tomato plant. Most fertilizers applied using the side-dressing method also serve as soil conditioners; they help to perfect the soil structure and enhance the texture for a better medium of exchange of materials.

Not all recommended tomato fertilizers can be applied using the side dressing method; it is not advisable to apply hygroscopic fertilizers like the NPK by side dressing. This is because the nutrient compounds in the fertilizer are volatile and can be lost to the atmosphere.  Examples of fertilizers that can be applied to tomato plants using side-dressing are; compost, green manure, vermicompost manure, cow dung, poultry manure, etc.

#2. Placement

Placement simply means applying fertilizer in a localized spot or portion of the soil and not directly to the plant. Placement is in two forms, band placement, and side placement; these methods or forms of applying fertilizers using placement are derived from the location of the fertilizer in the soil.

Applying fertilizer to tomato plants using the placement method simply means placing the fertilizers near or between the tomato plants. The fertilizers are usually placed in a dug channel or hole within the inter-row or Intra-row spacing between the plants. This allows two tomato plants to utilize the fertilizer.

There is a clear difference between side dressing and placement. In side-dressing, the fertilizer is applied above the soil, on the soil surface while in placement, the fertilizer is applied below the soil surface, meaning it is buried. All types of recommended fertilizers for tomato plants can be applied using side placement or band placement.

#3. Foliar application

One of the methods of applying fertilizer to tomato plants in an intensive system of planting like the greenhouse or nursery is the foliar application. In this method, the fertilizer solution or liquid fertilizer is applied to the leaves; the tomato plant absorbs the fertilizer through the opening such as stomata and the lenticels of the tomato plant. One of the benefits of using foliar application for tomato plants is to facilitate pollination, especially in greenhouse cultivation.

#4. Fertigation

In commercial tomato farms, fertigation is usually the most recommended method of fertilizer application. Fertigation involves the application of fertilizers to tomato plants through the irrigation water directly to the plant’s root zone where the fertilizer is used up. Fertilizers applied through this method are maximally utilized by the individual plants.

Read more: 4 Management Practices That Aid The Production Of Bigger Tomato Fruits

Lastly, the right quanity and quality of fertilizer is important to tomato cultivation; the goal is to allow the plant to utilize the nutrient content in the fertilizer for its growth. With strict adherence to the fertilizer recommendations for tomato plants and their application rate and other managerial practices such as weeding, tomato plants can perform optimally.

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