Crop advice in tomato: extra pollination effort for warmer days

23 May 2015

When the first warm days of the season arrive, the blooming period of tomato flowers suddenly becomes shorter. Furthermore, more flowers are now in blossom. If this period coincides with a decline in activity of the first bumblebee hives, the pollination process might slow down considerably.
Many tomato growers introduced their bumblebee hives in the beginning of the growing season, some 8 to 10 weeks ago. This means that the activity of these bumblebee colonies is currently in decline.
However, now the first warm days of the season have arrived and tomato plants require an extra pollination effort. “During summer a tomato flower blossoms much more briefly than in winter,” says Wesley Akkermans, sustainable crop management at Biobest. “Sometimes a flower will blossom only 1 day during summer, instead of 3 in wintertime. Furthermore, more flowers per plant are in blossom during summer. So there is a lot more pollination work to be done.”
According to Wesley, you should anticipate this and introduce extra bumblebees. “Otherwise you take the risk of not getting optimal pollination in your crop,” he says.
Wesley advices to install an extra amount of 1 to 2 bumblebee nests per ha every week, depending on the tomato variety and the bumblebee species. For tailor-made advice contact your Biobest adviser or register on www.biobestgroup.com to get in contact with us straight away.

Foto, press release: Biobest Belgium N.V

A test field of around 3,000 m² at Macfrut 2024

23 April 2024

At Macfrut, the sector’s innovations will be on display in an area of around 3,000 square metres, divided into two halls: one dedicated to fruit growing (Hall C1 - Agri Field Solution) and the other to soilless production techniques, commercial and industrial horticulture, and mechanisation (Hall A1 – Machinery Solutions). ‘Both of these areas allow visitors to see for themselves what they can put into practice on their own farm,’ says Luciano Trentini, an experienced agronomist. »

The first edition of Fruit Attraction in Brazil reflects the potential of the Brazilian fruit and vegetable sector

22 April 2024

Fruit Attraction, one of the world's leading international trade fairs for the fruit and vegetable sector, has closed its first edition in Brazil, at the São Paulo Expo. The three-day event brought together the entire production chain of the sector, with the presence of 45 countries and 8 Brazilian states (São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão, Pará, Espírito Santo and Paraná) and 12,000 visitors. »

What happened in the food industry this past month?

15 April 2024

Innovation is of key importance at SIAL Paris – and nowhere is this more the case than at the SIAL Start-up Village, which is run in partnership with Sesamers. Present in 24 countries, Sesamers is a global network of tech events that was launched in 2015 by specialists in innovation and business events. “With 10 years of experience, we help innovative businesses to shine on stage, build better events and scale their influence strategy,” the network, also known as Start-up Sesame, says. »