By Victor Loaiza, on behalf of Hort Americas
It is important to conduct water and nutrient solution analyses on a regular basis to ensure hydroponic tomatoes are receiving the proper level of nutrients.
Making sure that hydroponically-grown tomatoes receive the proper nutrient levels requires testing water and nutrient solutions. Growers also need to confirm that irrigation equipment is delivering the correct amount of fertilizer. Nutrient levels should be monitored and adjusted according to the crop developmental stage, the season, light levels and tomato type.
“In applying fertilizer to a plant grown either in soil or in a soilless medium, the goal is to match the nutrient uptake of the crop as closely as possible to the amount provided as fertilizer” (Mary Peet, USDA, Division of Plant Systems-Production, 2005). There are many reasons to do so, but a very important reason is to prevent fertilizer runoff which is actually money runoff.” For growers with open irrigation system this will hurt the most. In a closed irrigation system, excess fertilizer is recovered and recycled after water treatment.
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