The challenges of tomato farming include the use of poor quality seeds, poor quality fertilizer, unavailability of adequate water to the tomato plants and poor soil fertility etc.
To be successful in the growing of tomato, you should design ways and tactics to mitigate the challenges of tomato farming in Nigeria.
For instance, the planting of poor quality tomato seeds can lead to a significantly low crop yield.
Challenges of tomato farming in Nigeria
The following are the challenges of tomato farming in Nigeria:
- Planting of Poor Quality Seeds
- Poor Soil
- Inadequate Water Supply
- The use of poor quality fertilizers
- Poor pest and disease management
- Poor weed management practices
- Non-staking of tomato plants
- Careless usage of fertilizers
- Late harvesting of matured tomato fruits
- Usage of the wrong type of pesticides
The planting of poor quality seeds
The planting of poor quality tomato seed is one of the challenges of tomato farming in Nigeria.
Farmers in Nigeria often prefer the use of open pollinated tomato varieties, these varieties are not as pests and diseases resistant like hybrid tomato varieties. They also have a lesser yield
You are advised to plant high quality hybrid tomato seeds like Padma F1, Platinum F1 and Diva F1 seeds etc.
Poor Soil
The soil in Nigeria is generally poor. This is one of the challenges of tomato farming in Nigeria. You should conduct a soil test and get an agronomist to help you to design a fertilization plan to make your soil suitable for the growing of tomato.
Inadequate Water Supply to the Tomato Plants
Tomato fruits contain about 90% of water. Inadequate supply of water to your tomato plants can lead to a significant loss in yield.
Irrigation facility like drip irrigation should be used to guarantee the supply of water to your tomato plants.
The Use of Poor Quality fertilizers
A significant percentage of fertilizers in Nigeria are of low quality. This is one of the challenges of growing tomato in Nigeria
You should buy your fertilizers from accredited dealers. You should also do the analysis of the nutrients in your fertilizer.
Poor Pest and Disease Management
Poor pest and disease management is one of the challenges of growing tomato in Nigeria. Tomato plants are affected by a lot of pests and diseases.
The right type of pesticides should be used at the appropriate time to prevent the outbreak of pests and diseases.
Poor Weeds’ Management Practices
Weeds can reduce the yield of tomato plants to near zero. Herbicides should be used for weeds management. Weeds can also be removed by hand or mechanically.
The use of mulches can prevent the growth of weeds on tomato farms.
Non-staking of tomato plants
Non-staking of tomato plants can pre-dispose the plants to all kinds of diseases. Crawling tomato plants also produce badly shaped tomato fruits which often are not marketable.
Staking can go a long way in increasing the yield of tomato plants.
Careless usage of fertilizers
It is a misconception that the use of a lot of fertilizers will lead to a high yield in tomato farming. Over use of fertilizers can harm your plants and lead to a low crop yield.
Late harvesting of tomato fruits
Late harvesting of tomato fruits can actually harm the tomato plants and reduce the overall yield, when matured tomato fruits are left on the tomato plants, the tomato plants become stressed, this results in poor yield.
Tomatoes should be harvested every 2 – 5 days.
Usage of the wrong type of pesticides
The use of the wrong type of pesticides can also be a pitfall in tomato farming. You should always use the right type of fertilizers for your tomato plants.
Do you experience any challenges on your tomato farm? If yes, why not contact us.