Tomato plants cease to produce at temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tomato plants fall into the classification of tender annual. This means the plants grow new from seed each growing season and will not tolerate frost. Gardeners commonly start plants in containers indoors -- or purchase seedlings -- and transplant them outdoors during safe spring weather. The plants have relatively narrow temperature preferences. Does this Spark an idea?
Maximum Temperature
Tomatoes start to have problems when daytime high temperatures warm to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, the fruit turns tan, or "sunburned," if strong, direct sunlight falls directly on the fruit. This can happen if the plant loses some of its leaves, thus reducing shade for the fruit.
Hot Weather Effects
The blooms or flowers of the tomato plant drop off if exposed to daytime temperatures of more than 90 degrees F. The plant survives if it receives adequate moisture during hot weather and resumes production when weather cools. Blossom drop can also occur if nighttime lows dip below 55 degrees F.
Optimum Range
Tomato plants produce best at average temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees F. This relatively narrow range does not occur consistently in most areas. Best fruit production occurs at these temperatures; plants produce fewer fruits at more extreme temperatures, with production dropping off at temperatures of 90 degrees F or higher and 55 degrees F or lower.
Controlling Temperatures
Adding black plastic mulch over the ground increases soil temperatures by as much as 10 degrees. This helps maintain warmer temperatures during cool nights. The effects of high temperatures are more difficult to deal with. In many cases the gardener will have to simply keep watering the tomato plant to maintain its health until the hottest part of the summer has passed and temperatures cool.
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