Successful tomato production dependent on holistic approach

Tomato farming has become a high-stakes, high-input business where success depends on getting many moving parts right at once. From seed choice and soil preparation to climate control, irrigation, nutrition and pest management, every stage of the crop’s life cycle demands precise, season-specific decisions.

- Magda du Toit

Successful tomato production is determined by a multitude of interactive elements such as variety choice, environmental conditions, the weather, soil health, and management practices. Understanding how each of these interact with the others is the key to unlock the potential good yields, delivering a high-quality product, and optimising profit.

“A holistic approach is needed,” emphasises Werner Wessels, area sales manager at SADC South Countries, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.

“Balancing environmental conditions, plant physiology, water management, and soil health is important. When farmers understand this, they can make informed decisions and optimise their production for long-term success,” he says.

According to Jandri Venter, responsible for product development at Rijk Zwaan, growers require a great deal more capital to produce tomatoes than 10 years ago.

“Farmers who contemplate planting tomatoes should be prepared to pay more for inputs. In addition, retailers and consumers are demanding a higher quality product, therefore a more intensive crop protection programme is required,” he says.

Wessels highlights that growing tomatoes successfully starts with understanding the crop and its growth stages.

“Tomato plants go through distinct vegetative and generative stages influenced by seasonal changes that result in a constant shift between warm, dry, overcast, or rainy conditions, as well as the difference in day and night temperatures and day length and light intensity.”

In addition, Venter advises that before planting, farmers should secure a market for their produce.

“In the past it was easy to deliver products to the fresh markets in the bigger centres, but with the current situation at some of the markets, this is not [necessarily] a wise strategy to build your business on.