THE GROWING OF TOMATOES.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20909, 17 July 1933, Page 17

THE GROWING OF TOMATOES.

SETTING THE FRUIT.

VALUE OF TEMPERATURE. An address on the early stages of tomato growing was given to members of the Christchurch Tomato and Stone-Fruit Growers' Association by Mr D. J. Falla on Saturday evening. The male and female flowers on the tomato plants, said Mr Falla, were combined, and if the male part was examined closely it would be seen that it consisted of five or six pairs of pollen sacks joined together and containing pollen. The female part of the flower was known as the ovary, and contained the unfertilised seeds. None of these seeds would come to anything until pollen grains dropped on the stigma and grew down to the ovary and fertilised the seeds. When. the small pollen • grains touched an egg. the egg became fertile, and would develop Into a seed capable of producing a new plant, and it was only when the seeds were rot in that manner that the fruit would swell up and become fleshy and luscious, otherwise the blooms would either fall off or leave a small berry, which was known as seedless.

Period of Maturation. Some experiments had been carried out at the Cheshunt Research Station with regard to *he maturation period of the tomato fruit, and it was found that the time between the setting and ripening of the fruits was about 56 days, but In many cases when the higher bunch set before the lower one, as long as 90 to 100 days had been taken. It was common, he said, to see small, seedless tomatoes up to the third and fourth bunches. This was particularly noticeable in glasshouses where the plants were put in early, although the plants were exceptionally vigorous and the fires were kept going. The trouble was to be found in the temperature. It was common to hear growers say they liked to ?ee the glass of the hothouse alwavs drv. That was all right about n month later, but it was a bad sign at this time i.f the year. It was a clear indication that .the air was not humid, although the thermometer had a high reading.

Proper Temperatures. For successful setting the temperature should be kept at night at 50 ;o 60 degrees, and during the day at 03 to 70. There was no reason to oe alarmed if the temperature fell to 46 or 48 degrees at night, or rose to 80 degrees during the day. The cold air that dried up everything was to be avoided, as that was where the early grower's trouble with successful setting lay, he said. The air dried up the sticky moisture on the stigma to which the pollen adhered, and setting was prevented. It was good to keep the fires in the hothouse going slowly all day, the practice of allowing them to go out at this time of the year being a bad one.

WELLINGTON FIRE.

NO ESTIMATE OF DAMAGE AVAILABLE. NO reliable estimate is available y<ct as to the amount of the damage caused bv the fire in the premises owned by J R. MpKenzie, Ltd., Wll.' s street Wellington, the upper storeys of which were gutted by fire on Friday night. Mr J. R. McKenzie told a representative of "The Press" yesterday that the premises, which consisted of three buildings, one behind the other, on a 4e feet frontage on Willis street were only recently purchased. MoSt of the damage would be covered by msuran The building in which the fire occurred adjoins the "Evening Post'' building. It is a brick Structure of three storeys, and access to it is gained by means of a right-of-way from Willis street An old wooden building occupied the Willis'Street frontage, but it is being pulled down to make room