Hi i have started a tomato plantation on my balcony and its flowering but the flowers are falling without fruiting, i am using cocopeat and natural fertilizer.
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1I have had this occur as well one year, but I don't know what the root cause was. I assume it is because the flowers were not fertilized by insects. Maybe going out there with a small paint brush to manually do that would help; maybe twice a week.– Evil ElfCommented Jan 27, 2014 at 14:05
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@EvilElf polination is the issue not fertilization– wax eagleCommented Jan 27, 2014 at 16:14
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@waxeagle: that's a bit harsh - fertilisation is entirely appropriate, as is pollination– BambooCommented Jan 27, 2014 at 17:44
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@waxeagle: I should have mentioned being 'purist' - there is technically a difference between the two, as you know, but for general purposes, we all know what's meant...– BambooCommented Jan 27, 2014 at 18:24
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1Ah yeah I get it now. fertilization in the reproductive sense not the plant feeding sense.– wax eagleCommented Jan 27, 2014 at 18:33
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2 Answers
It could be a pollination/fertilisation issue, as Evil Elf comments, but if each flower is dropping off at the knuckle (that is, where the short stem joins the rest, breaking and leaving the short bit on the dropped flower) then this is usually caused by dryness, both at the root and in the air. Increase watering and spray the plants first thing in the morning (preferably not in full sun, but if its very early in the morning, it'll be okay) if you think this is an issue. Also, tap the flowers gently - this aids in pollination.
How are your temperatures there? If it's over 90 or so during the day, tomatoes will generally refuse to set fruit. I believe it is because high temps damage the pollen. And, as mentioned, extremely low humidity will also render the pollen sterile and cause pollination to fail and flowers to drop off.
Pollination is generally not an issue with tomatoes as long as you have a bit of a breeze going where the plant is - tomato flowers are almost all closed up and are therefore mostly self pollinating. Insect pollination is not the normal mode for tomatoes, so you don't have to use a brush or q-tip on the flowers. If you are concerned about pollination problems all you have to do is wiggle the tomato cage or gently tap the blossom clusters once or twice a day to trigger the pollen to fall down from the anthers to the pistil.
