This tomato just doesn't want to bloom open

[greenmouli]

I bought a Hilly Billy Tomato last year but forgot to sow them on time and just as an experimentation, I sowed them during hot summer this year (summers in my city gets as high as 42 deg. C). The seed did germinate and grow well initially but sort of started looking sickly and leaves curled up in between. I kept pruning the sick leaves and almost gave up on it and thought it's no good putting it through this torture, but when temperature started to cool down a bit in late June, the leaves looked better and even started to give out buds, but the buds never bloom. I fed it with dried cowdung (my go-to fertilizer) but it'd just keep giving out buds and not bloom at all. Even now, some of the leaves kind of curl up and I keep trimming. Is there something I am doing wrong? May be this is a variety that would only flower and set fruit in colder weather? I have no clue. Every time I keep thinking of just giving up on this plant, those buds keep appearing as if asking me not to! I already pulled out three other stunted plants of this variety. Any one has any idea as to what's happening with this plant?

 

[Chuck]

The buds will only open when daytime high temperatures are right. The blooms will only set fruit when nighttime low temperature are right. Being in India I would imagine that both nighttime low temperature and daytime high temperature are much too high.

 

[greenmouli]

Hmmm I guess I would have to wait then. Because I know last year my cherry tomatoes set fruit only during Winter. Guess this would be the same. I gotta look for varieties that are tolerant of the heat then. Thank you, Chuck for your reply.

 

[Chuck]

Hmmm I guess I would have to wait then. Because I know last year my cherry tomatoes set fruit only during Winter. Guess this would be the same. I gotta look for varieties that are tolerant of the heat then. Thank you, Chuck for your reply.

There aren't any varieties for your kind of heat or mine. Cherry tomatoes produce in higher temperatures than other tomatoes but day time temps of +/- 95F stops even them.

 

[greenmouli]

There are July-August sowing varieties available and I have seen other gardeners grow tomatoes during this time though. During this time, especially after August temperatures don't go beyond 93F usually.

 

[Chuck]

There are July-August sowing varieties available and I have seen other gardeners grow tomatoes during this time though. During this time, especially after August temperatures don't go beyond 93F usually.

Tomatoes set fruit up to a MAX of 76F nighttime low temperature and at this temperature the humidity has to be perfect. Sustained afternoon temps of +/- 95F causes buds not to open and blooms to drop no matter what the nighttime low temps are. Cherry varieties are the exception

 

[Tommy89]

I tried hand pollinating this flower a couple of times over the past couple of days by rapidly touching my finger to the flower. The flower has looked the same for the past 5 days or so. Today, the flower looks like it is dying. It is the first flower on this plant. Has it been pollinated? That center portion (the part with the stigma and anther) is supposed to open a little, right? That didn't happen.

The day temperature in my area is in the 90s Fareinheight during the day, but it's humid so the feels like is 104ish. At nights, the temperature is in the high 70s and low 80s. This is a beefsteak tomato plant.

 

[Tommy89]

I know it's been only a day since I've posted my question. Usually I get answers within a couple hours. I just want to make sure that my post didn't get skipped.

 

[Chuck]

I know it's been only a day since I've posted my question. Usually I get answers within a couple hours. I just want to make sure that my post didn't get skipped.

IMO the flower was not pollinated. Do you see the light green stem on the flower? That stem goes to the knuckle. If it is dark green from the knuckle towards the main plant the flower will drop. Hand pollinating in the temperatures described is usually a wasted effort. Tomato flowers are what is called perfect flowers, meaning that if conditions are right they pollinate themselves. In high humidity the pollen becomes sticky and no matter what is done it won't pollinate. Hand pollinating tomatoes is a lot different than hand pollinating squash or cucumbers. IMO you will not have any successful pollination until the high temps are around 85F and the nighttime lows below 74F

 

[Tommy89]

IMO the flower was not pollinated. Do you see the light green stem on the flower? That stem goes to the knuckle. If it is dark green from the knuckle towards the main plant the flower will drop. Hand pollinating in the temperatures described is usually a wasted effort. Tomato flowers are what is called perfect flowers, meaning that if conditions are right they pollinate themselves. In high humidity the pollen becomes sticky and no matter what is done it won't pollinate. Hand pollinating tomatoes is a lot different than hand pollinating squash or cucumbers. IMO you will not have any successful pollination until the high temps are around 85F and the nighttime lows below 74F

Should I pinch off all the flowers then till the weather cools down?

 

[Chuck]

Should I pinch off all the flowers then till the weather cools down?

I don't know if it makes any difference or not. If the plant is an indeterminate it will keep on making flowers and if a determinate it will show x amount of flowers and stop.

 

[Meadowlark]

Heatmaster tolerates Texas heat the best of any variety I've tried. If you can give it a little late afternoon shade, it will do more than tolerate, it will thrive. It is a determinate. It works!

 

[Don Perry]

Meadowlark, you mentioned a stain of tomato, ( Heatmaster ). Can you tell me more about this strain? Where do you get them?

 

[Meadowlark]

Check out this link : Heatmaster Tomato: High Heat Tolerance, Oblong Shape (bonnieplants.com)

Gurney's and other seed outlets also carry them.

 

[Don Perry]

Thanks, Meadow lark.