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Old 22-07-2004, 12:02 PM
dps
 
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Default How much lime to treat blossom end rot?

wrote in message
...

I came to this group the first time yesterday, and immediately found
the answer to my problem: what was causing the ends of my tomatoes to
rot. Blossom end rot due to low calcium. So can I simply treat this
by sprinkling lime in the soil? If so how much? It seems to be
linked to nitrogen content, so will switching to low N fertilizer help
by itself or will I need the lime treatment as well.




Blossom end rot is due to low calcium in the fruit. This can be caused
by a couple of different things, not necessarily a calcium deficiency in
the soil.

Calcium may be present in the soil, but its availability depends
somewhat on the soil pH. Acidity reduces the calcium availability. High
alkalinity also reduces the calcium availability, but to a lesser
extent. Availability peaks around pH 7.5

A lack of consistent water could possibly reduce the transport of
calcium through the plant.

I've observed that blossom end rot appears frequently on tomatoes that
are rapidly growing. Apparently, the calcium is directed toward the
growing point of the plant and so the calcium in the fruit is reduced.
This situation corrects itself after a couple of weeks, so it's only the
early fruit that have the problem.

I've tried foliar calcium sprays. They didn't do anything.