Grafted tomatoes from Nghe An with the hope of 'beating' Chinese tomatoes

(Baonghean.vn) - Faced with a shortage of tomatoes, having to import from other provinces and from China to supply people, Nghe An has ordered the construction of a model for producing off-season grafted tomatoes.

Due to the climatic characteristics, Nghe An in particular and the North in general have difficulty in expanding the area and increasing tomato productivity. In addition to the amount of tomatoes produced locally, most of this product must be imported from other localities and from China.

For this issue, the Department of Science and Technology has ordered the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute to implement the project "Application of scientific and technological advances to build a model for off-season grafted tomato production in Nghe An".

Thai tomatoes are successfully grown in Dien Chau. Photo: Thu Huong

Grafted tomato plants are varieties selected from eggplant rootstock EG203, top grafted varieties are commercial tomato varieties suitable for off-season conditions in the Red River Delta, have a semi-finite growth form, are resistant to heat, and viral yellow leaf curl disease such as: TN267, Savior, Emural, DDV2962, Annna...

After 24 months (September 2015 - September 2017) of research and application in Quynh Luu and Dien Chau districts, the results were positive. The project successfully built a model for off-season tomato propagation, with a scale of 300m2 and a capacity of 120,000 plants/year.

In addition, the project also successfully built a model of intensive cultivation of off-season tomatoes in the fields in 2 districts with a scale of 4 hectares, yielding 40 - 50 tons/ha/crop.

Grafted tomatoes grown in Dien Chau. Photo: Mai Giang

To expand the application of this technology, the project has trained 4 technicians in tomato grafting technology on eggplant rootstocks, and 120 farmers growing off-season tomatoes according to VietGAP standards.

This is good news for farmers in Dien Chau and Quynh Luu districts, promising to better meet the demand for tomato consumption in the province.

Hai Yen