Zambia Agribusiness Society

If you are planning to grow tomatoes on a commercial scale (i.e. 20,000 plants per hectare), here are some tips to consider: 1. Conduct market research: Before starting a commercial tomato production operation, research the local market to identify potential customers, suppliers, and competitors. Consider factors such as demand, pricing, distribution channels, and regulations. 2. Develop a business plan: Create a business plan that outlines your production goals, budget, marketing strategy, and risk management plan. Include details such as crop selection, land use, labour requirements, equipment needs, and financial projections. 3. Choose a suitable site: Select a site that meets the requirements for tomato production, such as soil type, climate, water availability, and access to transportation and markets. Consider factors such as land cost, zoning, and environmental regulations. 3. Plan your crop rotation: Tomatoes are susceptible to soil-borne diseases, so it is ess

Planting dates ·          All year round in frost free areas or greenhouse. Days to Harvest ·          80 to 120 days depends on cultivar. Harvesting duration ·          60 Days Yield ·          20 000 - 60 000kg. Soil requirements ·          pH 5.0 to 5.5, ·          Sandy loam soils, ·          Soil testing is key. Seed ·          120 - 160g in a nursery seed bed of about 60m 2 . ·          7 - 10 days emergence. ·          Floating seed trays can also be used. ·          Ensure free drainage to avoid damping off. Transplanting ·          6 - 8 weeks after emergence. ·          Harden seedlings when they have 3 - 5 true leaves. Spacing ·          In-row : 300 - 500mm. ·          Inter-row : 1000 - 1500mm. Fertilizer requirements Soil testing is key. ·          Basal Dressing : Compound S, ·          Top-dressing : Ammonium Nitrate and Potassium Sulphate 100kg/ha split into 2 or 3 applications. Weed management ·          Annual

The main diseases affecting tomatoes are Early blight, Late blight, Bacterial wilt and Fusarium wilt. The main pests of tomato are Mites, Whiteflies, Leafminers ( Tuta absoluta ) and Thrips. 1. Bacterial wilt  ( Ralstonia solanacearum ) The disease causes rapid wilting and death of the entire plant without any yellowing or spotting of leaves. Total collapse of the plant usually occurring when temperatures reach 32°C and above. Plant wilts while still green. When the stem of a wilting plant is cut across, the pith has a darkened water-soaked appearance, and on squeezing the cut stem, a white, yellow or greyish, slimy exudate may appear. In later stages of the disease, decay of the pith may cause extensive hollowing of the stem. Photo . Tomato plant infested by bacterial wilt Management: If only a few wilted plants are found, immediately remove them from the field. Practice long-term crop rotation (3 – 4 seasons). 2. Fusarium wilt  ( Fusarium oxysporum  sp.  Lycopersici )

Farming is an important venture that many of us need to go into in order to feed our families and meet the high demand on the market as one or two farmers cannot meet the demand of the local and export market. His Excellency President Hakahinde Hichilema through the ministry of agriculture has assured farmers that the exports markets won’t be closed. Therefore, it will be wise that many people be it old or young, male or female get on board and start farming to meet the demand in the coming days. Below is a simple tomato production guide under irrigation , as water is everything in tomato in order to have good quality and better yields. Land preparation If the land you intend to plant tomato was previously planted with maize or tomatoes, chances are high that it could be infested with rootknot nematodes. If this is the case you will need to treat the soil with cabofuran, phorate or oxamyl before transplanting the tomato. Use a rate of 3g per planting station, ensure the chemica

On a daily basis I talk to a number of farmers and many just don't get it right. What do you need to be able to get such a yield from your tomato plant? You need the right fertilizers applied in the right way, right quantities, and right time. We have both micro and macro-nutrients: Micro-nutrients are those nutrients which the plant requires in small quantities but are equally very important for good yields. Examples include boron, zinc, sulphur, magnesium, manganese, and calcium etc. Macro-nutrients are those nutrients which the plant requires in large quantities for them to grow strong, healthy and give you better yields. The examples include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). This is commonly abbreviated as NPK. Let’s roll..! At the earlier stages of plant development, the plant requires a phosphorus rich fertilizer such as DAP (Di Ammonium Phosphate) or Yaramila Power. Three weeks from planting, the plant should be starting to flower and it’s actively

Our discussion continues… “I think we should talk about the hybrid varieties not tengeru," she suggested. "That's OK madam we can do that," I replied. "Let’s focus on budgeting for you to prepare yourself and see how much you need. We will do our budget in a field of 1 Lima (50m × 50m). We will do a spacing of 1.5m from one line to the other and 0.5m from 1 plant to another. So in one line of 50m we will have 100 plants (2 plants/metre) and we will have 33 lines (50 metres divide it by 1.5 metres from one line to another). So in a Lima we will have 100 × 33 = 3, 300 plants. Ok hope you are following." "Now the second stage is to know the cost of a seedling per plant. Let us put a plant at K2 each. 3, 300 x K2 = K6, 600. You have prepared your land and planted. Give a space of 4 days then thereafter apply your basal-dressing at 15 grams per plant. So you need 50kg as basal in 3, 300 plants. Apply top-dressing in the intervals of 14 days at 5

The disease is caused by bacteria and occurs in moist soils, coupled with high temperatures and soils with high pH. It is mostly spread through contaminated irrigation water, contaminated farm tools or infected planting seeds. The disease has no cure, so monitoring, preventing, direct control measures remain the best practices. Symptoms and identification The younger leaves appear to wilt during hotter parts of the day which then recovers at night when temperatures are cooler. Rapid wilting of the whole plant without yellowing. Plants appear to have a stunted growth. When stem of infected plant is cut a brown colour resulting from damaged tissues is seen with a slimy substance oozing from a fleshly cut stem. Cultural control and preventive measures Do not plant in infested soils by avoiding fields where tomatoes had been planted before. Crop rotate with non-host plants such as maize, beans and cabbages. Remove infected plants immediately and di