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darkcloud784

Fruit Abortion

16 years ago

I posted here not too long ago about some tomatos I have been growing, the fruits have been developing black spots on the bottom of the fruit at a VERY young age. It seems as though once the fruit starts to get about centimeters in size it starts to form these spots. Someone mentioned it could be fruit abortion, I was curious about how you can prevent it from happening in any other of the fruits growing on the same plant or is there a way?

Comments (7)

  • 16 years ago

    Sounds like classic BER - Blossom End Rot - symptoms. Typically, this results from an unavailability of Calcium.
    This could be a deficiency, or it could be caused by temperature and/or moisture fluctuations.

    Are these plants in-ground or containers? Have you added Garden Lime or another source of Calcium?


    Josh

  • 16 years ago

    They are indeed grown in containers, they should have plenty of calcium, I put some dehydrated lime in the pot, as I said in my last thread. Which I did put too much in, however I removed the top soil, flushed and added some vinegar to even out the pH. So that should no longer be an issue, the reason I am a bit skeptic about the BER is the fact that they are EXTREMELY young when symptoms occur. So very young and small that the flower hadn't even fallen completely off. I've done some reading and from what I gather BER is extremely rare in fruits that young. I could be mistaken though I suppose, how can I tell for sure which problem it is? It seems to occur more in clusters, however its not just effecting clusters. Out of probly 15 projected fruits only 1 has no symptoms.

  • 16 years ago

    Sounds like it's time to post pictures.
    I've seen BER on tomatoes no larger than a finger-nail.

    Josh

  • 16 years ago

    Sorry its a bit fuzzy, but here's what it looks like.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:41775}}

  • 16 years ago

    I noticed that the leaves in the picture were very shriveled. If the plants are getting dry between waterings, it can cause blossom end rot as well as calcium deficiency.

    When growing tomatoes in containers, I've often had problems with BER until I started foliar feeding with a calcium spray. I started using the Green Light Blossom-End Rot Spray a few years ago and have not had any problems since.

    I add a couple of ounces of it to a gallon of water, along with a tablespoon of epson salt and a teaspoon of Green Light's Super Bloom Flower Food (12-55-6) A gallon of the mixture lasts for several weeks for a dozen plants. Twice a week I give my plants a misting with the spray. My cherry tomato plants are now 12 feet tall and covered with fruit.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Green Light Blossom-End Rot Spray

  • 16 years ago

    The leaves were pruned from a different plant, we had a big storm the day before this pic was taken so some branches broke and we pruned them off. The plant these fruits are off of, is not doing perfectly fine. Its the fruits that are having issues, I have added hydrated lime into the soil to help with calcium consumption and it hasnt helped at all.

  • 16 years ago

    A while back, JaG wrote this, regarding the difference between Hydrated and Dolomitic Lime:

    "In layman's terms hydrated lime is very caustic and reacts immediately with water.

    Dolomitic lime is slower to react and therefore lasts longer in a container.

    Hydrated lime can raise pH more than dolomitic with less product used."