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Is it too hot for tomatoes?
Do you remember the fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Do you recall Goldilocks fussiness about the temperature of her porridge? Well, if tomatoes could talk, they would say the same thing. Tomatoes need just the right temperatures to set fruit. 
Assumption: hot weather always produces great tomatoes.
Truth: tomatoes have a Goldilocks complex. The temperature has to be just right for tomatoes to set and form perfectly shaped fruit.
Too hot: Temperatures above 35 degree Celsius (95 degree Fahrenheit) reduce fruit set.
Too cold: Temperatures less than 13 degree Celsius (55 degree Fahrenheit) leads to poor fruit set and misshapen fruit.
Just right: Optimum temperatures for fruit set range between 18 – 27 degree Celsius (65-80 degree Fahrenheit).
Reference
OMAFRA factsheet: Freezing and chilling injury in tomato and pepper plants
Written by Cristina da Silva
Friday, July 16, 2010 in Plants
Read 1,455 times
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