The efficacy of calcium formulation for treatment of tomato blossom-end rot

A. Muhammad Syahren, N.C. Wong and S. Mahamud

Abstract

An in-house calcium (Ca) liquid formulation named Camob consisting of a strong and stable Ca chelate to assist in Ca translocation in tomato plants was used to treat blossom-end rot (BER). Two trials were conducted to validate the effectiveness of Camob with and without Ca loading. The effects of concentration, frequency of spraying, spraying on portion of plant bearing fruits and direct spraying on fruits only were evaluated. Results showed that the Camob spray treatments with 1,000 mg/litre Ca loading increased tomato fruit yield (12%) and mean fruit number (16%) in relation to the control. However, there was no significant difference between treatments of Camob at Ca loading of 500 and 1,000 mg/litre with respect to yield, fruit number, average BER incidence and Ca in leaf. BER incidence in Camob and Camob with Ca loading treated plants was reduced significantly to less than one fruit per plant compared to more than three fruits per plant in the non treated plants in the first trial. In the second trial, BER incidence in the treated plants was mostly less than half of the control plants. Foliar application of Camob was not effective in translocating Ca to the first mature leaf at the top of the plant as the increase in the amount of Ca in the leaf was not significant. For reduction of BER incidence, Camob with 500 mg/ litre Ca loading can be sprayed directly, once a month, onto the fruit bearing portion of tomato plant one month after transplanting.

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