There are two types of radicals in human body system. One is harmful free radicals which are also called oxidants and another radical is beneficial radicals. The information about beneficial radicals cannot be covered in the page. How harmful the free radicals called oxidants are is interesting question. You assume that in a dancing floor, there are only couples who are dancing. If some bachelors are allowed to dance in the floor, the bachelors start cutting the dancing couples in the dancing floor. Here the bachelors are harmful free radicals or oxidants.

In the same way; in the cells are abundant presences of biological and biochemical substances which are working for the cells’ regular processes. If there are harmful free radicals in the cells like bachelors in the dancing floor, the harmful free radicals donate their extra electrons to the structures of the cells and make them non-functional or harm cell wall and internal structure of cells such as DNA. This way, harmful radicals damage the structures of the cells including DNA. The harmful free radicals behave in the way as the bachelors are cutting the unity of the dancing couples in the dancing floor.

In the media of biological structures and biochemical substance, if the cells have antioxidants like lycopene, they destroy the harmful property of the harmful free radicals receiving the extra electrons of the harmful radicals. This way, antioxidants protects cells from the damage caused by harmful free radicals. When people understand the fact, maybe they will start to take abundant quantity of tomato fruits in different forms. Whatever and however may be the benefits of any food nutrients, people should not take any food item excessively. Any food item that is, if, taken excessively will certainly harm us. So be careful of it.

For example, if antioxidants are excessively present in the cells, the antioxidants not only scavenge the harmful free radicals but also start destroying the some beneficial radicals too. This way the antioxidants can harm cellular processes of the human body too. This paragraph is written based on some of researches of the some kind of antioxidant present in excessive amount due to supplementation in the human diet. The study was done with the supplementation of the vitamin E.

Some researches have indicated that regular and long duration supplementation of vitamin E which is one of the antioxidants in our body may harm us. Every body has his or her genetic make up. So, bad effect of intake of excessive amount of antioxidant also depends on the genetic make of the individuals. It is dealt in nutrigenomics. So, similar effects can be possible in case of other antioxidants too. The verification requires further experiments with the tomato lycopene.

In other words, amount of tomato fruits and its products should not be exceeded more than 100 grams in a day if he or she is taking tomato products daily. Excessive intake of tomato fruit means excessive amount of tomato lycopene too. Intake of excessive amount of lycopene may be harmful since excessive amount of same antioxidant of vitamin E is harmful to some human being of certain genetic make up. A particular individual can take abundant amount of tomato or not is dependent on the genetic make up of the individual too. But anybody can take products made from about 100 grams of fresh tomato fruits every day.

In the fermentation method, the pulp with the seeds is left for fermentation for about 1 to 4 days. The number of the days required for the fermentation of the tomato seed depends upon the temperature of the environment. If it is low temperature, longer duration is required to break the gelatinous coating of seeds. The tomato seeds cannot be kept for fermentation for longer duration if the temperature is above 320C since it reduces the germination percentage of the tomato seeds. After fermentation the seeds are then washed and separated with the help of water. The wet seeds should be shade-dried.

In the sodium carbonate method, pulp with the tomato seeds is mixed with aqua solution of 10% sodium carbonate in equal volume and kept overnight. Then the seeds are taken washing out water, sodium carbonate and gelatinous coating of the seeds in a sieve. The moist seeds should be shade-dried. This is a quick and safe method of the extraction of the tomato seeds.

In the hydrochloric acid method, concentrated hydrochloric acid is mixed in tomato pulp at the rate of 250 ml hydrochloric acid into the 10 Liter tomato pulp with the seeds. The mixture is stirred and left for half an hour. Be careful that the acid should be poured into the pulp. Don’t pour the pulp into the acid. After half an hour the tomato seeds are washed in clean water and they should be shade-dried. This is very quick. The tomato seeds extracted by the method are very bright and clean.

Reference Kerr E. A. 1962. Germination of tomato seeds as affected by fermentation time, variety, fruit maturity, plant maturity and harvest date. State Prod. Lab. Dep. Agric. Ont. Can., pp 79-85.

In the fermentation method, the pulp with the seeds is left for fermentation for about 1 to 4 days. The number of the days required for the fermentation of the tomato seed depends upon the temperature of the environment. If it is low temperature, longer duration is required to break the gelatinous coating of seeds. The tomato seeds cannot be kept for fermentation for longer duration if the temperature is above 320C since it reduces the germination percentage of the tomato seeds. After fermentation the seeds are then washed and separated with the help of water. The wet seeds should be shade-dried.

In the sodium carbonate method, pulp with the tomato seeds is mixed with aqua solution of 10% sodium carbonate in equal volume and kept overnight. Then the seeds are taken washing out water, sodium carbonate and gelatinous coating of the seeds in a sieve. The moist seeds should be shade-dried. This is a quick and safe method of the extraction of the tomato seeds.

In the hydrochloric acid method, concentrated hydrochloric acid is mixed in tomato pulp at the rate of 250 ml hydrochloric acid into the 10 Liter tomato pulp with the seeds. The mixture is stirred and left for half an hour. Be careful that the acid should be poured into the pulp. Don’t pour the pulp into the acid. After half an hour the tomato seeds are washed in clean water and they should be shade-dried. This is very quick. The tomato seeds extracted by the method are very bright and clean.

Reference Kerr E. A. 1962. Germination of tomato seeds as affected by fermentation time, variety, fruit maturity, plant maturity and harvest date. State Prod. Lab. Dep. Agric. Ont. Can., pp 79-85.

If the market is distantly located, harvesting should be done at fully matured green stage. If the market is nearby, the fruits are picked at a more matured breaker stage and onward. The stage of the tomato fruits for harvesting should be decided on the duration required to carry the fruits to the real market. If farmers are growing tomatoes for processing purpose, they should harvest the fruits when they fully ripen. It is done so to optimize quality traits such as color, flavor, texture, acidity and total solids of the tomato fruits.

Most of the fresh market tomato fruits are harvested manually. If any farmer is going to start growing tomatoes for processing purpose, he must start growing tomatoes of the determinate processing type. For this he will use machine harvester. The machine harvesters are widely used in developed countries. These machines shear the tomato bush slightly below the ground. The whole bush is lifted and shaken. And then the fruits are separated from the tomato vine in a conveyer. Thereafter the fruits are delivered to a side trailer. In the machine harvested bulk of the tomato fruits contain most of the fruits at a stage and some fruits are older and some are immature. So grading is done electronically in such case.

If transplantation of the tomato seedlings is delayed, the tomato seedlings do not establish very well in the field. As the result of which vegetative growth rate and development of the tomato plants will be relatively slow. For uprooting tomato seedlings from the nursery bed, the tomato seedlings should be thoroughly watered before one hour of uprooting.

Before the transplantation of tomato seedlings in the production plot, the distance between rows should be decided. Gardeners have to maintain minimum distance between at least between the rows. They should also maintain the minimum distance between the tomato plants in the rows. The spacing of the transplantation depends on the growth pattern of the tomato varieties. Generally planting distance between the rows can be 1 meter or wider and the distance between the plants in each row can be 40 cm or wider. Still we have useful information about sowing of the tomato seeds and raising the tomato seedlings. If we have started growing tomatoes for processing purpose and going to harvest mechanically, farmers are advised to sow the tomato seeds directly in the production field.

If the nutrient level is poor in the soils, fruits do not grow very well. This way the fruits cannot attain its characteristic size, but fruit ripening occurs. In such circumference, the gardeners cannot succeed in growing tomatoes. If there is very low moisture content in the soils; the fruits cannot grow properly, the fruits develop very poorly; the tomato fruits cannot attain the full size. Such tomato fruits too undergo ripening even though the fruits cannot attain its full size. In such circumstance, growing tomatoes cannot be successful.

Tomato ripening means increased respiration rate, spontaneous ethylene production, synthesis of tomato lycopene and conversion of some other bio-chemicals of the tomato fruits. In the phenomenon of tomato ripening; chlorophyll degrades, starch disappears and tomato fruits start synthesizing tomato flavoring substance. The fruits also make a cell wall-hybridizing enzyme called as polygalacturonase. The synthesis of the lycopene can occur whether the tomato fruits are in the plants or not. The synthesis of the lycopene occurs after the tomato fruits are harvested at young or matured stage.

It is the most important information for the gardeners who are growing tomatoes in their vegetable garden that the application of some plant growth hormone has shown positive effects on fruit setting of the tomato plants in greenhouse as well as in open field conditions. Plant growth hormone such as 4-chlorphenoxyacetic acid (CPA) or B-naphthoxyacetic acid (NAA) have responded very well to increase fruit set significantly on the crop of the tomato.

Everybody wants to be successful in their occupation. For growing tomatoes successfully, you must take use of plant hormone. There are some such plant hormones available in the market of your locality. The sprayed plant hormones will induce fruits setting in the tomato flowers even temperature goes over 300C.

Some of the plant hormones which help fruit setting in the tomato plants in hot climate are 4-chlorphenoxyacetic acid (CPA) and B-naphthoxyacetic acid (NAA). In your locality, there are plant hormones whose trade name is different. You better ask in the agriculture input store for it or agricultural extension worker.

You can see the procedure of making solution of the plant hormone in the leaflet inside the packet. Generally water solution of the strength of 75 to 100 ppm of CPA is made and sprayed on the tomato foliage. Or you make the solution in the different instruction too. Mix 15 to 75 mg of CPA for one liter of clean water. You can make the solution of a little bit higher strength too if the temperature is higher. Never exceed very high concentration than the above range. This way, the work of growing tomatoes can be successful if you use the plant hormone in time once you observe no fruit setting in the flowered tomato plants in the vegetable garden.

You can also use NAA as the alternative for the induction of fruit setting if temperature reaches or goes over 300C. If the temperature is higher than 300C, you better make the solution of the strength of 50 to 100 ppm of NAA. Spray the solution onto the flowering foliage. Please remember that one gram of the plant hormone is meant for 1000 milligrams. See the percentage of active ingredient of the plant hormone vial or package whatever may be the hormone, NAA or CPA?

You should spray the plant hormone when about four flowers have opened in the inflorescence. How to spray the plant hormone onto the foliage of tomato plants is also very important for the gardeners who are growing tomatoes. Each flower have green region at the bottom of the flowers. It is called calyx. So gardener should spray the solution in such a way that the solution of the plant hormone should come in contact with the calyx. Spraying time of the plant hormone is about 3 pm or afterwards in the sunny days.

Night temperature also influences fruit set in tomato plants. Tomato plants cannot set fruits in the flowers when the temperature is lower than 130C even though there is proper balance of carbohydrate and nitrogen content. So, gardeners must be aware of excessive use of the fertilizers of inorganic nitrogen such as urea and ammonium sulfate. Please don’t apply excessive amount of nitrogen fertilizers in the vegetable garden.

Higher is the carbon-nitrogen ratio in the soils, higher will be carbon-nitrogen ratio of the tomato plants. Lower is the carbon-nitrogen ratio in the soils, lower will be the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the tomato plants. Higher concentration of carbon is preferred in the soils for proper growth of roots and plant system. If nitrogen content of the soils is very high, it means the carbon to nitrogen ration is low; then the tomato plants too have higher content of nitrogen. As the result of which, the tomato plants will excessively grow vegetative. Then, the fruit setting of the crop of the tomato may be negatively affected. If the tomato plants set fruits enough, the fruits may damage due to disease attack.

Tomato plants can set fruits if the plants have moderate foliar growth and proper balance of carbohydrate and nitrogen level. If nitrogen content is very high in the plant system, tomato plants will grow vigorously. Then all carbohydrate will be utilized for the vegetative growth and carbohydrate content of the tomato plants will be very low for fruit setting. As the result of which the plants will not set fruits even though the tomato plants have high flower density. Fruit setting will only happen if there is abundant carbohydrate accumulation in the plants over the actual requirement for vegetative growth.

Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers makes the tomato plants weak even though it appears green, attracting and good vigor. If you apply nitrogen fertilizers excessively, the tomato plants will have higher concentration of nitrogen in comparison to the concentration of carbon in the tomato plant system. Then there will be very low carbon-nitrogen ratio. In other words, the balance of the carbon-nitrogen ratio will be disturbed. It will make the tomato plants weak. As the result of which, the tomato plants will be susceptible to several diseases. In such condition, tomato plants may yield fruit but the fruit will damage. The fruits will not be saleable. So be careful in the fact.

Once the gardeners have started growing tomatoes, the plants will grow and reach reproductive maturity. Then the tomato plants start flowering and setting fruits. After initiation of the fruit sets in the tomato plants, the plants will require six to seven weeks for the fruit development. In the tomato plant, duration of the fruit filling to reach full size and its maturity also depend on the temperature of environment where they are is grown. Here fruit filling and maturity are meant for the cell division of the set fruits, and expansion of the cells of the tomato fruits in the plants.

For growing tomatoes, the gardeners must be careful for timely training and pruning of the tomato plants. Even if they are growing tomatoes in their vegetable garden, they must be careful to train and prune the tomato plants in time. The operations of training and pruning depend on the growth pattern of the tomato cultivars. For growing tomatoes successfully, the gardeners must understand growth pattern of different types of tomato plants. There are three types tomato plants based on their growth pattern. They are indeterminate, semi-determinate and determinate.

If the gardeners are growing tomatoes of indeterminate kind, they must understand that the plants are requiring enough support. They must train the tomato plants to the support by tying shoots. The supports are skates or trellises. The plants are trained on stakes or trellises or in different way. For growing tomatoes of indeterminate type, the tomato plants require enough labor for pruning and training.

If the gardeners are growing tomatoes of semi-determinate or indeterminate kind, side shoots eat the plant nutrients for their growth. As result of which less and less nutrients will be available for setting, growth and development of the fruits in the tomato plants which finally lower the yield. So, we must do timely pruning of the tomato plants to save plant nutrients for increasing the production and make the occupation of growing tomatoes lucrative.

If the gardeners are growing tomatoes of indeterminate or semi-determinate kind they should maintain single or two shoot in the tomato plants. Extra shoots should be removed immediately once the main shoot starts to initiate the extra new shoots to prevent the loss of nutrients. For growing tomatoes, timely identification of the vegetative branches or inflorescence depends on short experience of the gardeners through regular watching of the plants. So the gardeners must watch carefully about the initiation of inflorescence and vegetative shooting buds in their vegetable garden. For growing tomatoes of semi-determinate type, the plants necessarily require vigorous and rigorous training and pruning. But the training and pruning require enough laborers for growing tomatoes in large commercial scale. The gardeners who are growing tomatoes must have the important point that the growth, development and yield of the tomato crop depend on the soil fertility, soil moisture availability and prevailing weather condition including temperature.

If the gardeners are not growing tomatoes of indeterminate kind but growing tomatoes of determinate kind in their open field, they must understand that the tomato plants of determinate kind set fruits over a brief period; it is about forty days. If the gardeners are growing tomatoes of determinate kind as ground crop in dry climates, the determinate bush is left in the ground for the fruit production.

If the gardeners are growing tomatoes of determinate kind in wet season, the tomato plants are staked or trellised in the season or place when or where rainfall occurs. For growing tomatoes of determinate type, the crop of tomato is grown as a ground crop on raised bed for processing purpose. Trickle irrigation is commonly adopted for growing tomatoes outdoor. By the way, it is recommendation that farmers grow the tomatoes of determinate type in open field condition for processing purpose.

In United Kingdom the gardeners are growing tomatoes in commercial green houses with average fruit yield of 250 tons per hectare. In Europe farmers are growing tomatoes in hydroponics in commercial greenhouses. Growing tomato in hydroponics requires precise control of mineral composition and concentration (McGlasson, 1993).

Reference McGlasson, B., 1993. Tomatoes, in Encyclopedia of Food Science, Food Technology and Nutrition (R. MaCrea, R. K. Robinson, and M. J. Sandlers, ed.), Academic Press, New York, p. 4579.

For growing tomatoes; sowing tomato seeds, fertilization and manure application, transplantation of the seedlings, care of the tomato plants and other operations required are the activities; you can get ideas from different pages of the website and contact for skill orientation training too. But learning by doing is the best way.

In this way you can also explore new findings and extend it. If you go to any institute for the skill developing training for growing tomatoes, you will go through the tract what are the activities to work outdoor or in the greenhouse. So know the fact. Create your own idea as well as learn from excursions and orientation. Visit some sites of vegetable garden and talk to the gardeners too about your curiosity. Don’t afraid of growing tomatoes in your vegetable garden if you are in a tropical or subtropical or mild temperate country. Learn growing tomatoes in small scale and then expand the business to earn.