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Ask George – Q&A from the Field

George has been active in the field of agriculture for 32 years, 13 of them at Hazera. Before George joined Hazera, he worked in the field of vegetable cultivation and plant protection at the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture. George has a graduate degree in Plant Protection. The primary crops George dealt with are tomatoes, melons, watermelons, onions and leaf plants.George’s primary field of expertise is the examination of new varieties during the early cultivation stages, and their modification for the relevant cultivation regions and countries.
Over the past 3 years George has served as the Product Promotion manager for tomatoes in the major target countries for Hazera tomatoes.Based on his extensive and rich experience in tomato crop cultivation methods, fertilization, irrigation and plant protection, George is happy to put the knowledge he has acquired over the years at your disposal.

We invite you to send George any questions you may have about growing tomatoes to:
Ask-george@hazera.com

Mr. Hitoshi Kifuji, Maebashi-City, Gumma, Japan
Question:
 We have planted tomatoes in our greenhouse using original hydroponic system. The sowing date was September 10th and transplanting was on the 25th of same month. The harvesting started at the beginning of January. The problem, as you can see in the enclosed photo, is the yellowing of leaves during the winter season. Though leaves of some varieties have recovered as temperatures became warmer, other varieties are still yellow. Our local expert suggested that one of the reasons might be the low temperatures, as greenhouse temperature dropped to 10°C on several occasions. However, he thinks that fertilization might also be involved. I would appreciate your opinion as to what could have caused this problem and ways to avoid it.
Answer...
Mr. Wangzhixun, MinQing, Fuzhou, China
Question:
 In open field production in MinQing (China) many small black spots appear around the fruit pedicel on the majority of fruits. It appears in all varieties in my field. This happens when the fruits are changing color from green to red. The fruit’s skin becomes rough and the coloring is uneven. This phenomenon affects fruit quality and might result in sale loss. Can you please tell me what the cause for this phenomenon is and what are the best ways to avoid it
Answer...
Question:
 How can I ripen green tomatoes?
Answer...
Question:
 Should tomato fruits be stored at room temperature or in the fridge?
Answer...
Question:
 I have noticed fruit and flower shedding from the second and third clusters of my tomato plants. How can I prevent this phenomenon?
Answer...
Question:
 I grow Hazera’s Felicity cherry variety in an open field. Recently, the Bemisia tabaci population is much higher than in previous seasons.
10% of my plants show minor TYLCV symptoms, and generally the fruit color is less red (a bit orange). Is this normal?
Answer...
Question:
 Do LSL and firmness reduce tomato flavor?
Answer...
Question:
 What is the difference between long shelf life and firmness?
Can a tomato be firm without having LSL genes?
Is there any relation to green shoulders?
Answer...
Question:
 I heard about a new disease in tomatoes - Torrado.
Can you explain what it is? How it is transmitted and how can we, tomato growers, avoid it?
Answer...
Hassan, Agadir, Morocco
Question:
 Dear George
I grow a grafted tomato variety. The rootstock is supposed to be nematode resistant. However, several plants in my greenhouse collapsed and when I checked their roots I saw galls full with nematodes.
How can this happen?
Answer...
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