Greenhouse Tomatoes

There are cracks in the fruit. Now what?

Cracked fruit are not marketable, unless the cracks are very small. Cracks can be described as radial - those that radiate from the stem end and move downwards, and those that are concentric - with rings around the stem end of the fruit. Both types are signs of poor water relations in the plant. Uneven watering will promote fruit cracking, so be sure that plants are getting enough water. Sometimes, plants get enough water by the end of the day, but the interval between watering is too long, causing plants to wilt between watering cycles. Many growers water as often as once every 30 or 60 minutes in hot climates. Cracking can also be promoted by very fast growth, high temperature, a large difference between day and night temperatures, and an inadequate fertilizer program. Also, some varieties are more prone to radial or concentric cracking, or both.